The Gibbs Project
by The Needless Lobsters
Summary: When Gibbs gets a case that lands him two marine-raised kids, how will he adapt to "parenthood"? Rated T because of the first chapter... and because I'm paranoid. Main story complete! One-shots moved to separate story!
1. Prologue

**Hey Readers!  
>This story was an idea that AJ and I had.<br>We hope you like it!**

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><p>It was a quiet evening in Quantico – no parties, no fighting, no screaming. Not that it was expected on a marine base. Lieutenant Marcus Parkson calmly headed down the street to his house, where his family would be waiting for him to arrive home.<p>

As he reached his front porch, he sensed something was off. He knocked on his front door as he usually did, not bothering with his keys.

"Honey?" he called out. There was no answer. He knocked again. "Honey!"

After waiting for a few more seconds, he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. The house was silent… unnaturally silent compared to the usual noise. He pulled out his gun and crept into the living room, where his wife would be. The room was dark. He flicked on the lights.

He was horrified.

The room had turned from its comforting creams to a bloody red, creating an eerie scene like one from a horror movie. There were bloody handprints splattering the walls, and streaks of blood decorated the carpeted floor. The table lamps were smashed, and pieces of glass littered the floor. But that wasn't what caught the Lieutenant's eye.

Right there, in the middle of his living room, lay his wife.

Dead.

The man quickly ran over to check her pulse, but he wasn't expecting it.

There wasn't one.

As he rose from his crouching position, he heard faint footsteps coming from behind him. He span quickly to come face to face with a masked killer. His wife's masked killer.

"Goodbye," the killer whispered before plunging a knife into his spleen. The lieutenant gasped in pain as he fell to the floor, only registering faint screams as the killer pulled out a gun and embedded a bullet in his skull.

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><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	2. Chapter 1

It was a usual morning in NCIS – keyboards typing, paperwork being finished, the occasional paper ball flying across the bullpen…

"Ow! Tony!"

Tony smirked as McGee attempted to glare at him. The paper ball he'd just thrown had hit him right on the head, distracting him from his 'computer work'.

"Oh come on, McWimpy! That didn't hurt," Tony teased. A paper ball landed on his head. "Ow! Hey!" He turned sharply to face Ziva, who was smirking at her desk.

"Oh come on, Tony! That did not hurt," she mimicked. Tony frowned at her. McGee winced.

'Here comes another war,' he thought.

Tony scrunched up another paper ball, prepared to throw it at Ziva.

"Grab your gear!"

Tony jumped and dropped the paper ball in the trash before grabbing his backpack and coat and following Ziva and McGee into the elevator. Gibbs joined them last, closing the elevator doors behind him.

"So, where we heading, Boss?" Tony asked.

"Dead marines in Quantico," Gibbs replied gruffly.

"How did two marines get murdered in Quantico?" Ziva asked.

"Ask the marines."

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><p>"Tony, photos. McGee, bag and tag. Ziva, interviews," Gibbs ordered as the team stepped onto the crime scene. The team nodded and went their separate ways. Gibbs walked into the house and observed everything on the scene.<p>

There were bloody handprints splattering the walls, and streaks of blood decorated the carpeted floor. The table lamps were smashed, and pieces of glass littered the floor, along with the rest of the broken furniture. And right in the middle of the living room were the two dead bodies, male and female.

"What have we got here?" Ducky asked as he walked into the house with Palmer hot on his heels. He spotted the two dead bodies and kneeled down beside them. Ducky smiled down at the two dead marines.

"Let's see what's happened here," he said.

Tony sighed as he took what he felt was the fiftieth crime scene photo in the last five or so minutes. He looked around the place finding something interesting to do.

"Ah, the Mr and Mrs, the lovely couple. You know, this reminds me of a time–"

"Time of death, Duck?" Gibbs demanded.

"The male died just over twelve hours ago, I'm guessing about thirteen hours ago, which makes it around yesterday evening. He was stabbed in the stomach, but it seems like this shot to the head killed him," Ducky explained as he turned the man's head to show Gibbs the gunshot. Ducky sighed. "His wife died around an hour or so earlier. She died with a stab to the chest, but she didn't seem to go down without a fight." He lifted up her hand. "Pieces of skin under the nails and bruising on her knuckles, most likely because of a fight. Her husband, on the other hand, went without a fight, as you can see from his clean hands." He picked up the Lieutenant's hand. "He would've had his death sprung upon him."

Gibbs nodded. "Thanks, Duck. McGee! Got anything?" Gibbs barked.

"The male is Lieutenant Marcus Parkson, and he was on leave when this… event happened," McGee explained.

"What about the female?"

"Her name's Petty Officer Grace Parkson, wife of the Lieutenant. She was on leave around the same time as him."

Ziva walked into the room. "I interviewed some of the neighbors – there wasn't much noise, maybe a gunshot or so, but they say that it was usual for them."

"Why was it usual?" McGee asked.

Ziva shrugged. "They said that nothing was seen, though one neighbor claimed that there was some screaming. Actually, one neighbor said she saw a black car pulling up to the house around seven o'clock, about ten minutes after the Petty Officer got home."

"I'm still wondering why hearing a couple of gunshots was the norm…" Tony wondered out loud as he took one more photo.

Suddenly there was a crash from upstairs, and all of the agents pulled out their guns on impulse. Ziva looked over to Gibbs, and he nodded, allowing her to head upstairs first with Tony. Gibbs and McGee followed, giving the pair back-up until they reached the top of the stairs. Tony and Ziva headed for the nearest rooms, whilst McGee and Gibbs headed for the rooms further back.

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><p>Tony opened the door slowly, revealing a grey-blue room with a grey carpeted floor and blue walls. The ceiling was painted to imitate storm clouds, with streaks of lightening streaked across it. There was a cupboard in the corner of the room, which was painted a deep blue, with a lightening bolt and an eagle on it. The bed was a simple one, with blue covers.<p>

"This person's really obsessed with blue, and storms," Tony muttered to himself. The room had a 'stayed-in' feeling, which was mainly cause by the posters all over the walls. When Tony had a closer look he realized that they were all Percy Jackson posters, with each of the movie characters on them.

"Serious obsession," Tony murmured as he moved to open the cupboard door. He opened it quickly; making sure it was empty before shouting, "Clear!"

As he investigated the rest of the room, he realized there were only books where anything else could be, most of them written by an author named Rick Riordan. He looked at some of the titles. _The Red Pyramid_, _Sea Of Monsters_, _The Lost Hero_…

Tony sighed. "So this kid, whoever he is, is a fan of myths?"

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><p>Ziva opened the door silently, walking into a lounge room of some sort. The walls were painted a soft cream, and the brown carpet made it all the warmer. In the far right-hand corner there were light brown leather chairs facing each other diagonally, and in between them stood a bookcase. In the right-hand corner closer to the door stood a forty-five inch flat screen TV, and it seemed to be hooked up to a game system.<p>

"An X-Box?" Ziva wondered aloud.

Against the wall to her left stood two desks, each with a chair at them. At one of them was a laptop, which seemed to be off at that moment. Against the wall opposite stood a large toy-box, which was over-flowing with toys in a rush to put them away. There were a few toys left scattered on the floor, but nowhere to suggest anyone can hide apart from in the toy box.

Ziva cautiously opened the lid. She heard Tony shout, "Clear!" from another room, and when she finished searching the room for hiding places, she decided to do the same.

"Clear!" she shouted. She holstered her gun and decided to check out the books on the bookshelf. They were relatively normal books, like _Pride and Prejudice_ and _The Chronicles Of Narnia_, though there were quite a few Shakespeare books. She turned away from the shelf and decided to check out the TV. It was then that she realized that there was a shelf for games on the bottom. She knelt down to look at them: _Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2_;_ Assassin's Creed 2: Brotherhood_;_ Mafia 2_;_ Call Of Duty: Black Ops_;_ Halo: Reach_;_ Grand Theft Auto_…

Ziva sighed. This person was way into shooting games.

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><p>Gibbs slowly opened the door to reveal a room that was literally green. The walls were covered in an army camouflage wallpaper, and the floor was covered with a dark green carpet. The bed had green and brown covers, and they were done neatly as if a marine had done them. The walls had posters of marines, as well as shooting video games, on them. Along the wall behind the bed's headboard there were photos of a man and a boy.<p>

"Probably the Lieutenant's pictures," Gibbs thought aloud. He noticed the wardrobe in the corner was the only thing that was fully brown, and he checked to see that no one was in there. Behind the door stood a bookcase, with books based on war like _Private Peaceful_ and _The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas_ on it. He sighed. There was nothing there.

"Clear!" he yelled, just as he heard Tony and Ziva yell. There was nothing left in the room to look at.

"Boss!" he heard McGee call from the other room. He quickly headed out of the door to see what McGee had found.

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><p>McGee hoped he wouldn't find anything when he opened the door. He looked around the room and realized it was the Master Bedroom, where the couple must've slept. The walls were a cream colour, like the walls downstairs, but the carpet was a wine-red. There was a queen-sized bed along the far wall, which had red and cream pillows all over it. There was nothing else much in the room apart from a cupboard in the corner and a built-in wardrobe. McGee opened the cupboard, finding nothing in there apart from some old boxes. McGee closed the cupboard and headed for the wardrobe, only to hear whispering coming from it.<p>

"Boss!" he called out. Seconds later Gibbs, Ziva and Tony ran into the room.

"What, McGee?" Gibbs asked impatiently. McGee pointed at the wardrobe.

"Someone's in there," he told them. The whole team turned to Gibbs, and he nodded at them, silently ordering them to assume their positions.

Tony and McGee each grabbed one of the handles, and Gibbs and Ziva stood back to shoot if the person – or people – in there were threatening. Tony and McGee waited for the signal. Gibbs nodded once. The doors were flung open, and Ziva and Gibbs held their guns only to point them at…

Two children.


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey readers! Here's the next chapter of the story! I hope you like it!**

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><p>Gibbs glared at the two children in the wardrobe. The smaller one winced, whilst the older one just stared back.<p>

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"My mommy says we're not allowed to talk to strangers," the younger one piped up. She was a small girl, looking about seven years old, with the Lieutenant's red hair tied into pigtails and his wife's green eyes. She had freckles that covered her cheeks and her nose, and Gibbs only just noticed the missing tooth in her mouth.

"We're not strangers," Tony tried to convince them.

"But we don't know you – therefore, you're strangers," the older one said. He was in his early teens, fifteen at the most, with the Petty Officer's brunette hair, which was long enough to just land in his eyes, and her green eyes. He had the Lieutenant's athletic build and jaw shape, and Gibbs could tell that he did many sports from his muscle size.

"Look, we just wanna help," Tony tried again.

"Then who are you?" the older boy demanded.

The four agents got out their badges. "We're Special Agents Gibbs, DiNozzo, McGee and David, NCIS," Gibbs told them, stepping forwards.

"What does that mean?" the little girl whispered.

"It means they're the good guys, Jess," the boy whispered to the girl before looking Gibbs straight in the eye. "I'm Andrew James Parkson," he introduced himself. He held out his hand, and Gibbs took it in a firm shake.

"And I'm Jessica Grace, but my friends call me Jessie, and Andy calls me Jess, and sometimes when I'm really happy or excited or I've just been reading and it's nearly bedtime, Andy calls me Thalia Grace like in the Percy Jackson books, because Thalia is really awesome and I like her," the little girl said in one breath. She took another deep one before talking again. "What do your friends call you?" she asked Gibbs.

"Gibbs," he replied.

"That's a weird name…" Jessica trailed off. Ziva and Tony chuckled, whilst Gibbs and McGee smiled.

"We're gonna have to take you down to the Navy Yard," Gibbs told them. Andrew nodded and let Tony lead him out of the room. Jessica hung back and turned to Ziva as she led her out.

"Um, Agent David? What is the Navy Yard?" Jessica asked.

"It's where our headquarters are," Ziva explained.

"Ziva! I'm taking the truck with Ducky!" Gibbs called from downstairs.

"Who is driving?" Ziva called back.

"Not you!" Tony answered for Gibbs. Ziva chuckled as she led Jessica downstairs.

"So, Jessica, tell us about yourself," Tony said from the driver's seat at the front. McGee was riding shotgun, and Ziva was in the back Jessica and Andrew.

"People call me Jessie, not Jessica," Jessie pointed out. "I like Percy Jackson, and the Kane Chronicles, and Heroes of Olympus, and my favorite color's blue, and grey, and I like storms, and my favorite author's Rick Riordan, and my favorite Percy Jackson character's Thalia, because she's smart and funny and brave and her eyes are my favorite color and she's a daughter of Zeus which is my favorite Greek god and –"

Andy clamped his hand over her mouth. "Stop talking, ok?" Jessie merely nodded. Andy smiled his apology at the other agents.

"She's very talkative and hyperactive," he explained. Ziva smiled.

"She is a lot like Abby then," she laughed. Jessie managed to move Andy's hand away from her mouth.

"Who's Abby? Is she smart? Is she funny? Does she like music? What food does she like? Does she sing? Does she dance? Is she –" Andy cut off Jessie's rant by putting his hand right back over her mouth. Jessie still kept talking though, her words muffled by his hand.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"Don't apologize," Ziva told him.

"It's a sign of weakness," McGee explained.

"Rule number six," Tony added.

Andy was confused, and even Jessie had stopped her rant in confusion. "What?"

Jessie was struck with awe when she saw the office floor of NCIS. Andy couldn't in the least be a bit bothered by it.

"Woah," Jessie whispered. "This is more awesome than a lightening storm!"

Ziva laughed. "That is strange, because I prefer lightening storms."

"Really? I think lightening storms are awesome! When the clouds are all dark and suddenly there's a flash of light and then – BOOM!" Jessie exaggerated with her hands. "Thunder! Makes you pee your pants! Well it made me pee anyway."

Ziva laughed at the little girl.

"Get the kid to interrogation," Gibbs demanded.

"You're gonna interrogate an innocent little girl, Gibbs?" Tony asked in shock. Gibbs glared at him.

"Right, the other one," he confirmed as he took Andy to interrogation.

"This other one has a name, you know," Andy murmured.

Jessie watched as her brother was led away from the bullpen. "Where are they taking him?" she asked curiously.

"To interrogation. They would like to talk to him," Ziva explained as she pulled her chair out for the girl.

"Oh." Jessie sat down in the chair, staring up at the skylight. Ziva stole Tony's chair and decided to catch up with some work whilst McGee just stared at the little girl.

"Um, Jessie?" he called out after about five minutes. She looked over at him.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"Staring at the skylight. It's really bright and big, like a huge window in the ceiling. I like it." She stared back up at the skylight after answering McGee's question. McGee just sighed.

She was one weird little girl.

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><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	4. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

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><p>Andy sighed as he sat in the interrogation chair at the table. He stared ahead at the mirror, wondering who was standing on the other side. All the time, he wondered what would happen. Would he have to go into the foster system? Would he and his sister be split up? Would someone adopt him?<p>

He laughed at the last thought. No one would ever adopt him. If anyone looked at his school reports, it would reveal one simple fact. Although he was a straight-A student, he was one simple thing: A trouble-maker. Every report card he had said the words '**trouble-maker**' in clear letters, and every time his parents would nag him about it. It was never his fault, he just happened to be seated and friends with the wrong people, and they always got him into trouble. Either that or he took the blame.

Andy was brought out of his thoughts when the door to the interrogation room opened, and two men walked in. The first one was carrying a folder. 'His name is Tony,' he reminded himself. 'The other one is… Gibbs?'

'Tony' sat down at the table.

"Um, Agent DiNozzo?" Andy asked. Tony looked up from where he was reading the folder.

"Yeah, Andrew?" he answered.

"Er, why am I here?" Andy asked.

"To be interrogated."

Andy rolled his eyes. "I know that – it's called an interrogation room for a reason. I just want to know exactly _why_ I'm here." Andy thought for a little, before he stared at Tony in horror. "I'm not a suspect, am I?"

"No, no!" Tony comforted before explaining. "We just want to know what happened before the murder, as you were on the scene whilst it happened. We want to know everything."

Andy sighed before starting to explain. "Well, I got home at about five-ish, after bringing Jessie home from her karate class, because I did some track at school. I remember telling Jessie to get ready for bed before getting some leftovers from the fridge and heating them up for our dinner. Jessie came down, and we ate. At about six-thirty, mom came home and told us to go upstairs and do our homework. About fifteen minutes after that, we heard the front door open and there was a load of crashing down stairs – plates crashing, furniture breaking – the lot. Jessie and I ran downstairs to see what was going on, and we saw mom fighting some masked lady. The lady killed her, and I could tell she was looking for something."

"How could you tell?" Gibbs asked. Andy shrugged.

"I just knew. So I grabbed Jessie and we ran upstairs to hide in our parents' closet. We managed to keep quiet in there for about another hour, before we heard dad come in. That's when Jessie nearly panicked, because she didn't want the masked woman to get dad too. I had to try even harder to get her to shut up, but eventually she got out of the closet and ran downstairs. I heard her screaming as I followed her and I saw dad dead on the floor. That's when the killer came for me. I grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be dad's baseball bat, and I backed away from the killer with Jessie behind me. The killer just glared at us, and it looked like they were contemplating killing us. That's when we heard one of the neighbors come over. The killer ran off, and we ran and hid in mom and dad's closet again. That's where you found us."

Gibbs nodded. "Do you know what the killer was after?"

Andy shook his head. Gibbs sighed.

"Anything else you wanna share?"

Andy shook his head hesitantly.

"DiNozzo, take the kid and get him something to eat – he looks hungry," Gibbs ordered before leaving the room.

The pair just sat there, staring at each other, before Tony broke the silence.

"So, kid–" he started.

"My name's Andrew," Andy corrected.

"Ok then, _Andy_, what do ya want to eat?"

"Pizza."

Tony nodded. "What toppings?"

"Sausage… pepperoni… maybe some extra cheese… and ham if they do some," Andy said thoughtfully.

"Ok, I was with you until you said ham," Tony said, smiling at the boy. Andy smiled back.

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><p>Jessie stared up at Ziva as they stood in the elevator, waiting for their floor. Ziva turned her head a little to look at her, before turning back to face the elevator doors. When she realized the girl was still staring at her, she turned to look at her.<p>

"Why are you staring at me?" Ziva asked.

"I'm trying to imagine what type of demigod you would be," Jessie admitted. "You look too tough for a daughter of Aphrodite, but too soft for a daughter of Ares. I think you'd be a daughter of Athena, because you look smart. You don't have her eyes though, but that doesn't matter. I don't have Zeus's eyes but I'm a demigod of Zeus, so I don't think it really matters. Andy says it does though… but I think it's because he doesn't want to be a son of Ares like I put him. He says he wants to be a son of Poseidon, because he has green eyes. He looks more like a son of Ares because he loves shooting games, and he wants to shoot people when he gets older. Did you know that? He says he wants to be a marine, like daddy was…" Jessie trailed off at that point. Ziva noticed that there were tears in her eyes and leaned down to her level.

"Do not cry, Jessie," she soothed. "You are a strong girl, and your daddy loves you, no matter where he is."

"But I want my daddy," Jessie mumbled as a few of the tears fell.

"Your daddy would be very proud of you, Jessie," Ziva whispered. "You have been very brave for us, do you not think so?" Jessie sniffed and nodded.

"Daddy always called me his bravest little girl," Jessie told her.

"See?"

"But I'm not little. I'm biggerer than all the other kids in my class," Jessie said brightly. Ziva laughed.

"It seems so," she said. "And the word is 'bigger', Jessie," she corrected.

"Yes, Miss David," Jessie answered, pronouncing her name correctly. Ziva laughed.

"Oh, and there is someone I am sure you would love to meet," Ziva told her just as the elevators opened. Jessie smiled and grabbed Ziva's hand as they walked – in Jessie's case, skipped – into Abby's lab. The loud music was what hit their ears first. Jessie quickly covered her ears.

"Abby!" Ziva yelled over the loud music. A woman with black hair in pigtails wearing platforms and a lab coat quickly ran to turn the music down. Jessie stared at her in awe.

"Thank you," Ziva sighed. Jessie took a closer look at the woman.

She was wearing a black top, probably a t-shirt, with a glittering skull on the front. She had a black and red patterned mini-skirt on and a collar around her neck. She seemed to be wearing black lipstick.

The woman bent down to her level. "Hi, there! What's your name?" she asked happily. Jessie smiled at the glee in her voice.

"I'm Jessie. Who are you?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. Abby smiled at her.

"Abigail Sciuto, Forensic Analyst at your service," Abby said, curtseying. Ziva decided that it was best for her to leave right then. Jessie giggled before her eyes settled on the computer which was analyzing some fingerprints. She ran up to it and stared at the screen.

"Woah… what's the screen doing, Miss Sciuto?" Jessie asked.

"The computer's analyzing fingerprints left at the scene, so we can find out who… killed… your parents. Oh, and please, call me Abby," Abby explained, finishing off with the correction.

"Oh." Jessie turned to another machine. "Ooh! What does this do?" She aimed her finger at a button. Abby managed to stop her before she touched it.

"No! Don't touch that!" she yelled as she ran over to the girl. "Major-Mass-Spec doesn't like being touched by strangers."

"Oh." She looked back over at the computer. "Do you have any games on it?"

"I don't think so, but I don't play them," Abby said. Jessie looked a little downcast. Abby realized that she was absolutely bored, and quickly grabbed Bert from her swivel-chair. Jessie cocked her head in curiosity.

"Abby, what's that?" Jessie asked.

"This is my good friend Bert," Abby introduced as she handed the hippo to the young girl. Jessie smiled as she took the hippo, and gasped when it made a noise when she accidentally squeezed it.

"It farts!" she squealed happily. Abby nodded before picking her up and putting her in her swivel-chair. She span the little girl around, and couldn't help but join Jessie in the laughter that engulfed the room.

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><p>When Tony had come down to get Jessie with Andy, he didn't know what he was expecting. Was he expecting a quiet little girl, sitting politely? Or was he expecting an angry Abby and a screaming girl? Andy, being Jessie's older brother, should have known what to expect, but even he didn't expect what they saw.<p>

Abby and Jessie playing a game of 'Demigod Heroes', Jessie's favorite game – she had made it up, after all.

Jessie was standing on the swivel chair, holding Bert firmly in her grasp, whilst Abby was standing beside her, looking like she was fighting something. She looked so focused, that even Tony couldn't guess what she was doing.

"Quick! There's another Cyclops!" Jessie yelled, pointing at thin air. Abby stabbed that air with her imaginary sword.

"I got him!" she yelled. Jessie cheered.

"You're the best daughter of Hades I've ever met!" Jessie yelled as she jumped down from the chair. "Now hurry up – we have to get back to camp!"

"Aye, aye, Captain Jessie!" Abby saluted before moving to stand behind the swivel seat.

"Man the Pegasii!" Jessie yelled as she placed Bert on the back of the swivel seat. "Are you ready?"

"Get on, Jessie! Blackjack's ready to fly!" Abby smiled. "I sure hope you asked Percy about this…"

"I did!" Jessie jumped onto the chair. "Ready, set, FLY!"

Abby pushed the chair and ran around the lab, laughing as they flew through the 'clouds' towards 'Camp Half-Blood'. She weaved around the computer, wheeling her to her desk in the other room before bringing her back to the main lab. Jessie smiled when she saw Andy.

"I see Chiron!" she yelled, pointing at him. Andy frowned.

"I'm not Chiron!" he protested.

"Oops, I mean it's my half-brother, Andy, son of Ares… I mean Poseidon!" Jessie corrected herself quickly. Abby brought the chair to a standstill in front of the two guys.

"It's good to be home," Abby sighed.

"I wanna go on another adventure!" Jessie said.

"So I'm guessing you don't want pizza?" Andy asked.

Jessie thought for a bit. "The adventure can wait. Pizza comes first."

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><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	5. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long wait. We had a week-long trip to France and I couldn't do any more writing.  
>Well, enjoy the chapter!<br>And happy American Independence Day!**

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><p>Jessie grinned as Ziva attempted to wipe the remainder of the tomato sauce off her mouth.<p>

"You are such a messy eater," Ziva commented, smirking.

"Does that mean I can't eat anymore?" Jessie asked worriedly.

"Why? Are you still hungry?" Ziva asked in disbelief.

"Yeah…"

"No shock there – most of the food ended up _on_ your mouth rather than _in_ it," Andy said from his seat at Tony's desk.

"You ate three slices, Jessie!" Tony exclaimed. "I can't believe you're still hungry!"

"But I am!" Jessie exclaimed.

"Just give her something to drink," Andy sighed. "Like water?" Jessie pouted a little.

"Can I have some juice, Miss David?" she asked Ziva.

"Yes, you may, but please call me Ziva." Ziva stood up and held out her hand to Jessie. "Let's go and grab something from the break room." The pair headed off towards the break room just as Gibbs came in with his sixth – or was it seventh? – cup of coffee for the day.

"Where are they going?" Gibbs asked.

"Break room. Jessie wants juice," Tony explained. Gibbs nodded.

"What ya got?"

"Nothing much apart from the basics – a killer got into the house around quarter to seven, killed the Petty Officer, waited for her husband to come home before killing him, which was at around eight o'clock, and then left," McGee explained. "They were looking for something, but they left no fingerprints at the crime scene. Actually, there were too many fingerprints to process…"

Gibbs sighed. "Right – long case." He turned to Andy. "You have a place to stay?"

"Yeah, my house," Andy answered as if it were obvious.

"With a guardian?" Gibbs added. Andy shook his head.

"You're staying with an agent."

"What?" Andy stood up. "No way! I'm not staying with an agent! It'll be like I'm in protective custody!"

"Hey, Andy, if you've gotta do it, you've gotta do it," Tony told him. Andy frowned.

"I don't wanna be some burden to a poor old sucker," he muttered. Tony frowned a little.

"'Burden'…" Tony asked. Andy suddenly became interested in the floor.

"So who's taking care of me… I mean Jessie and me?" he asked, scuffing his feet on the floor. Tony grinned.

"Yo, McGoo…"

"No, my place only has space for one person, and that space is already occupied," McGee answered automatically.

"Then maybe I –"

"DiNozzo, you can't even take care of yourself, let alone two kids," Gibbs pointed out. Tony pouted.

"I can take care of myself very well, thank you very much."

Gibbs gave him a pointed look.

"Well who do you suggest, then? The director?" Tony asked.

"He's already got two kids, Tony," McGee said. "I don't think he could handle four."

"We need someone strong. Someone who's had experience with kids…" Tony thought.

"Someone like Gibbs?" McGee asked. He immediately regretted it when it came out of his mouth, and even more when Gibbs' head snapped up to glare at him.

"Yeah!" Tony didn't notice the glare Gibbs gave him as he stood up. "What do ya say, Boss?"

Andy watched Gibbs' reaction expectantly. Gibbs thought about it for a second. It may be a hassle having kids in the house – especially one as hyper as Jessie, from what he heard – but he could do with a little liveliness. He sighed.

"Oh, alright then."

Andy smiled. "Thanks Gibbs."

Just then Jessie and Ziva returned, Jessie holding a juice box in her hands and Ziva holding some coffee. Ziva looked around at the smiles on her coworkers' faces, not including Gibbs.

"What is going on?" she asked.

"We found somewhere for the kids to stay!" Tony explained as he moved to sit on his seat. Jessie's eyes brightened.

"Are we staying at Ziva's?" she asked.

"No, we're staying at Gibbs' place," Andy told his sister, fully expecting the mini-tantrum that she was about to throw.

Jessie frowned. "But I wanna stay at Ziva's! I don't wanna go to Gibbs'! It's not fair! I didn't get a say in this!"

"Neither did I, Jessie," Andy sighed.

"But it's still not fair!"

"Jessie, if I have to go, you do too."

"But –"

"Jessie, we're going."

Jessie pouted. "Can I still go to Ziva's for sleepovers?"

Andy groaned and Gibbs sighed.

"Yes, you can," Gibbs finally said. Jessie's face lit up.

"Cool! And we can have slumber parties and play games and even invite Abby over! And then we can…"

Gibbs decided at that point to tune out the little girl's voice and get on with the case. Boy she reminded him of Abby.

* * *

><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	6. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long wait! I was so busy updating my other stories that I nearly forgot about this one... oops.  
>Anyway, enjoy!<strong>

* * *

><p>"You kids ready to go?"<p>

"What about Ziva? And Tony? And McGee? And Abby? And Ducky and Palmer?"

"They've got work to do."

Jessie paused for a second. "What kind of work?"

"Case work," Gibbs answered simply.

"What kind of case work?"

"Usual case work."

"What kind of –"

"Jessie, shut up," Andy interrupted. Jessie pouted at her brother.

"Why?"

"Oh, don't start that rubbish again, Jess," Andy groaned.

"Why?"

"Because it's annoying."

"Why?"

"… because it is."

"Why?"

"Jessie! Shut up!"

"Wh–" Jessie's mouth was clamped shut when Andy put his mouth over it.

"Thank you," he sighed. Jessie murmured something that sounded like, "You're welcome". Andy rolled his eyes.

The elevator doors opened and Andy stepped in with Jessie, keeping his hand firmly clamped on her mouth. It was only when it became wet that he quickly let go.

"Jess!"

Gibbs smirked at the sudden outburst, but resumed his neutral look just seconds after.

"Gibbs?"

Gibbs looked down at the little red-headed girl. "Yeah?"

"What's for dinner?"

"Jessie, it's only five o'clock," Andy sighed.

"Whatever you want," Gibbs said, smiling at the girl.

"Can we have pizza?"

"We had that for lunch," Andy told her.

"Sandwiches?"

"You have those for lunch."

"Chinese?"

"I'm in."

* * *

><p>Gibbs sighed as he waited for the children to get their stuff packed. They had already spent nearly an hour getting their stuff, and he still needed to go to the store to buy their cereals for breakfast – he didn't even know what they liked. Or maybe he could just make them toast for breakfast…<p>

Suddenly a bag was thrown down the stairs, followed by another. Gibbs moved out of the way just in time for them to thump on the floor rather than his head.

"Andy! Mom says you shouldn't throw your bags downstairs!" Jessie yelled.

"Oh, bog off Jessie!" was the response. Gibbs smiled. There was some more shuffling upstairs before there was another shout.

"Andy! I can't shut my suitcases! Can you help me?" There was the light thumping of Andy's footsteps as he headed to Jessie's room before, "Jeez, Jess! What are you bringing? Your whole bedroom?"

"Yes."

"Smartass!"

"You asked the question!"

"Hey!" Gibbs yelled up the stairs before they could start bickering. They were as bad as Tony and Ziva. The two were silenced until they finally came down the stairs, Andy dragging two large suitcases and a small one with difficulty. Jessie walked down behind him, shouldering a large sports bag which Gibbs could tell was full by the way she struggled to carry it. Andy dropped the first suitcase when he was halfway down.

"Andy!" Jessie screeched as the first suitcase toppled down the staircase. It landed in front of Gibbs, not looking at all battered.

"It's fine, Jessie, it's not broken. It was an accident. Plus, with all your books in there, it was getting pretty heavy." Andy only just managed to bring the second suitcase down carefully. "Now can I go get the rest of my stuff?"

"Yes," Jessie said, smirking. "Don't forget your spear."

"What?" Andy turned to face his sister, confused.

"I said, don't forget your spear."

Andy glared at her. "You probably forgot Aegis," he mumbled.

"No I didn't," Jessie teased. Andy glared at her before running upstairs to grab his last duffel bag.

Gibbs picked up one of Jessie's suitcases and took it to the car, stuffing it in the trunk. He took the other one that the girl had managed to drag behind her and placed it next to the other one. Jessie smiled up at Gibbs in thanks before climbing into the car and sitting behind the passenger seat, placing her bags on the seat next to her.

Not long after, Andy came running out carrying two more duffel bags and a rucksack, all of which were slung over his shoulders. He quickly tossed the duffel bags in the trunk before sitting directly behind the driver's seat in the car and placing his rucksack by his feet. Gibbs started the car just as both kids put their seatbelts on. Jessie sighed as she stared out of the window, but was a little startled when Gibbs pulled up in front of a supermarket.

"Gibbs, what are we doing?" she asked curiously. Gibbs was already getting out of the car and Andy was hurriedly following, not wanting to get into trouble. Jessie quickly took her seatbelt off and jumped out of the car, running after Gibbs as they headed inside. Gibbs grabbed a trolley and headed for the cereals aisle, barely waiting for the kids to catch up with him.

"Gibbs, what are we doing?" Jessie panted.

"Buying food," he answered simply.

"Why?"

"You wanna eat tomorrow, don't ya?"

* * *

><p>Gibbs sighed as the trio placed the groceries on the kitchen counters. The shopping hadn't been that bad, apart from the fact that Jessie was talking so much that Gibbs was sure he'd gotten a worse headache than the ones DiNozzo gave him on paperwork day. The two waited patiently in the kitchen whilst Gibbs started to put the food away. He stopped when he realize he was being watched.<p>

"Go and unpack," he demanded. The two scrambled upstairs, and Gibbs smirked when he heard them fighting over rooms. As soon as he finished putting the food away, he headed upstairs to check on them.

As soon as he reached the landing, however, he heard shouting coming from the bedroom at the end of the corridor. He walked past the rooms, only vaguely noticing that Jessie's room already had posters up even though her books and clothes were strewn across the floor. His bedroom on the left hadn't been opened. As he neared the final bedroom at the end of the corridor, he heard the shouting become louder.

"Get off my bed, Jessie!"

"Never! Not even Zeus could stop me!"

"Oh, shut up with all that Greek crap! They're not real!"

"They are in my world!"

"Well we're not in your frikin' world, Jess!"

"Call me Thalia or I shall smite you!"

"Shut the hell up!"

Gibbs opened the door to find Andy's duffel bags strewn all over the floor and his rucksack on a desk that had been placed in the room. The walls had some of Andy's original decorations on it, but that wasn't what made Gibbs smile.

Andy was lying on the bed, seemingly trying to relax, whilst Jessie was jumping up and down on it. Andy's face was buried into the pillow.

"Jessie! Get off!" he yelled as he lifted his head up. Jessie giggled and landed in a seat drop on Andy's legs.

"OW!"

Gibbs smiled at their antics before heading down to the basement. He'd probably need the bourbon by the end of tonight.

* * *

><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	7. Chapter 6

**Here's the next chapter, readers!  
>Enjoy!<strong>

* * *

><p>Andy sighed as he walked out of his school, shouldering his rucksack with all of his books and homework.<p>

"Andy!"

He turned to see his best friend, Alice, running up to him. He smiled and waited for her before heading towards the bus stop. "Hey Al."

"Andy, where were you yesterday? You skipped school, and you never do that! Even when _they_ are here!" Alice narrowed her eyes at him. "You weren't with _them_ yesterday, were you?"

Andy shook his head quickly. "No! No way! I wasn't! Didn't I promise you that I'd stay away from them from now on?"

Alice thought about it for a second. "Good point. Anyway, how's your family? Your mum and your dad? My mum hasn't heard from your mum in a while. Is she alright?" Alice smiled at Andy.

Andy took a deep breath. "Well… she's overseas at the moment and so is my dad, so we're staying with a family friend," he lied. Alice nodded.

"Ok then."

As Andy waited at the bus stop with his best friend, a car pulled up. To be more exact, a blue Charger. The window rolled down to reveal a smiling DiNozzo.

"Hey, Andy!"

Andy groaned. Alice smirked.

"Is that who you're staying with?" she asked.

"No, I'm staying with his boss. They're probably doing paperwork today," Andy sighed as he headed for the car.

"What are you talking about?" Alice called out as Andy got into the car. Andy shut the car door behind him and Tony drove off.

"Andy!"

* * *

><p>Andy groaned as he sat in the car seat. "Why did you have to pick me up?"<p>

"What, not happy to see me Andy?" Tony asked, only turning briefly to look at the boy.

"It's not that… it's just…" Andy trailed off.

"The girl you were walking with?" Tony teased. Andy stared at Tony in horror.

"What? No! We're just friends! I mean, best friends! But nothing more!" Andy tried to convince the older man. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Right…"

"I mean, you and Ziva seem pretty close, and there's nothing between you two, right?"

Tony froze. Was there anything between them? "There's nothing between us."

"Exactly. That's how me and Alice are."

* * *

><p>Andy sat at Tony's desk, bored out of his mind. There was nothing for him to do. The case was going nowhere. They had suspects, but no motives. It was going cold.<p>

"Hey Andy, don't you have homework?" McGee asked. Andy opened his bag and got out the pieces of homework he had. He had completed every single one of them.

"No. I've done them all." Andy thought about everything that he could do to help with the case. That was when he noticed something at the bottom of his bag. He frowned at it before putting everything back and closing the bag. "I wish I could do something to help…"

McGee smiled at him. "Don't worry. We'll catch those killers eventually."

"Yeah, eventually…"

"Hey Andy!" Jessie ran up to her brother. "Look what I did at school today!"

Andy smiled at his little sister. "What did you do?"

Jessie held up a drawing. "It's a picture of me and you, defeating the Minotaur and its evil minions!"

Andy looked at the drawing and realized it was a picture of him and Jessie. He was drawn with his usual brunette hair and green eyes, but he was holding a gun and seemed to be aiming at the Minotaur. Jessie, on the other hand, seemed to be holding a sword and was fighting the Minotaur. There were other figures in the picture that Andy faintly recognized as characters from the Percy Jackson series.

"That's a really cool picture, Jessie," Andy complimented. "Need any help with homework?"

"It's just a bit of math today, so not really. Actually, I might." Jessie moved to sit on the floor and got her homework out of her rucksack. Andy joined her on the floor, and Gibbs watched the interaction between the two, his heart softening a little.

* * *

><p>Andy ran straight up to his room after dinner, opening his rucksack and emptying out its contents. Right on top of the pile landed a memory stick. Andy picked it up carefully and examined it for any clue as to what it was. It was when he saw the initials on it that he remembered what it was.<p>

**FLASHBACK**

_Andy frowned as his mother rummaged through her bag, looking for something that was seemingly important._

"_Mom, what are you looking for?" Andy asked innocently. Even though he was fourteen, he was sure he could still pass for innocent at times._

"_Something very… aha!" His mother smiled as she brought a memory stick out of her bag. It was silver, and it had the initials 'GP' engraved on it. She handed it to him and turned to close her bag. Andy studied the stick._

"_What is it?"_

"_It's a memory stick, honey."_

"_I can see that, but why are you giving it to me? It's got your initials on it."_

_His mother turned around as she finished closing her bag. "It's got valuable information on it, Andy, too valuable for me to keep. I trust you to keep it safe."_

"_Has this got anything to do with your last trip overseas?"_

_The Petty Officer sighed. "Yes, honey, but please keep it safe."_

"_Can the information get you sent to jail?" Andy asked as he studied the memory stick again._

"_It can get one of my colleagues sent to jail, but not me. I'm waiting for the right time to tell my boss about it." Grace stroked her son's cheek. "Do you promise to keep it safe under all circumstances?"_

_Andy nodded. "I promise."_

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Only one word ran through Andy's mind as he pocketed the memory stick.

_Shit_.

This was the memory stick that got his mom killed.

And if it was found on him, he could be next.

* * *

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	8. Chapter 7

**Hey readers! Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

><p>Andy sat up in bed, thinking.<p>

It had been two days since he had found the memory stick that he had kept for his mother, and now he had no clue what to do with it. He pulled off the covers and got up, heading for his door. _Maybe I could think about this over a cup of hot chocolate_…

As soon as he reached the ground floor, he noticed the basement door was slightly ajar. He crept up to it, knowing that there was someone down there by the fact that there was a light on, and pushed it slightly so that he could get through. As he headed down the steps, he was amazed by what he saw.

There was a boat.

In the basement.

"Woah," he whispered. Gibbs turned from where he was working on the boat to look at him.

"You're awake?" he stated more than asked.

"Couldn't sleep," Andy replied as he got to the bottom. He smiled as he ran his hands along the grain of the wood. Gibbs noticed it.

"You like boats?"

"Dad used to take me boating and fishing. Once he tried to get me to help him build a boat." Andy smiled at the memory. "It failed, but it was fun. We stuck to building tree-houses after that." Andy didn't know why he suddenly felt at ease talking to Gibbs.

Gibbs handed him a sander. "Wanna help?"

Andy took the sander and smiled as his father's words rang through his head. _With the grain, Andrew, with the grain! You'll ruin it if you do it like that! You want to sand it, not destroy it!_

Gibbs noticed how easily the boy was sanding the boat. "You've had practice?"

"My dad taught me, and I do woodwork at school."

Gibbs nodded, and they continued to work on the boat in a comfortable silence, having the occasional conversation. It was when Gibbs brought up what Andy wanted to do in the future that got them into a long one.

"I want to be a marine, a sniper," Andy smiled. "I'm good with a bow and arrows, but I'm not so sure with a gun. I'm too young to own one, aren't I?"

Gibbs smiled a little. "I used to be a sniper."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but coming to NCIS was a good decision too."

Andy smiled and continued to sand the boat until there was padding on the stairs. Both males looked up to see Jessie standing on the stairs, rubbing her eyes.

"What's up, Jess?" Andy asked.

"I had a nightmare, and I thought I heard talking," she answered timidly.

"Well, Gibbs and I were just sanding the boat. You wanna join?" he asked. Jessie nodded and headed down the stairs, moving to stand between Andy and Gibbs. Gibbs handed her a sander whilst Andy brought over the stool for her to stand on. Jessie climbed onto the stool without difficulty and started sanding the boat.

"With the grain Jessie," Andy reminded his younger sister. Jessie quickly switched, ignoring her brother's smirks.

"Just because you're so good at building," she sulked.

"You have an imagination, and I don't," Andy pointed out. Jessie shrugged.

"You don't want one," she pointed out. Andy rolled his eyes at her reasoning before going back to his sanding.

The rest of the night was spent like that – Gibbs and the children sanding whilst Jessie was telling stories and trying to make conversation. There was the occasional laugh from Andy as Jessie recalled humorous memories, but all the while Gibbs stayed silent, listening to their conversation. It wasn't until he got upstairs that Jessie suddenly became sad.

"What's wrong, Jess?" Andy asked.

"It's just…" A lone tear rolled down her cheek. "It reminds me so much of when Dad was still here. We used to build with him, he'd just listen quietly and we laugh. I miss him." She leapt into Andy's arms and started sobbing. Andy rubbed her back soothingly. They stayed like that for a few moments before Andy spoke.

"You know what Dad would say right about now?" he asked. Jessie shook her head.

"He would say that you should be brave for him, just like Thalia always was for Annabeth," he explained. "Because you're his brave little girl, and he loves you."

Jessie lifted her head from Andy's shoulder. "Do you think he's watching us?" she asked whilst looking upwards. Andy nodded.

"Dad and Mom will always be watching us."

"That means I can't steal any cookies from the cookie jar, because they'll see me, right?"

Andy laughed. "If you say so." Both of them froze and turned when they heard a creak from the staircase. Gibbs stood on the third step from the bottom, holding three mugs.

"Hot chocolate?"

Andy and Jessie smiled before taking their mugs from him. Maybe the old guy wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

><p>No, he was definitely bad.<p>

Why had he agreed to this again?

Oh yeah, so that Gibbs would let him try out his sniper rifle on a shooting range.

Andy sighed. The things he would do just to shoot a damn gun… He shook his head and continued with his homework, reaching the last page.

_Algebra_. His least favorite math subject. He put the pen to the paper and started working the problems out. After about two minutes, he put the pen back down and sighed, resting his head on his desk. He lifted his head back up to find that he'd only answered the first question. He groaned and fingered the memory stick in his pocket. _Maybe he could skip out the homework and…_

He was brought out of his thoughts by the door being opened, and he quickly went back to doing his homework.

"You alright there, Andy?" Gibbs asked.

"No! Stupid algebra!" Andy exclaimed. Seeing Gibbs' raised eyebrow, he quickly corrected himself, "I mean, no sir. I'm having problems."

Gibbs smiled. "I'm heading down to the office…"

"The case still on?"

Gibbs ignored the interruption. "Maybe McGee could help you a little whilst doing the case."

Andy smiled at Gibbs. "Thank you, sir."

Gibbs smiled again and started to walk out of the room. "Call me Gibbs!"

* * *

><p>"What you got?"<p>

"We got a match on the car registration boss…"

Gibbs turned to face his youngest agent. "And…"

"It was a rental boss. The person who rented it gave a false name."

Gibbs sighed. "Anything else?"

"Ziva and Tony aren't back from getting the security footage tapes from the police station."

"Yes we are, and we've already taken them down to Abby," Ziva explained as she and Tony walked briskly into the bullpen.

"We've got nothing apart from the killer being female, about five feet seven," Tony continued. Gibbs sighed. A dead end.

"Have you tried looking through all of their colleagues?" Andy asked. "Knowing my mom, she's bound to have done something to piss one of them off, though I'm not exactly sure it would end up with them being this extreme…"

McGee typed his keyboard. "Getting the details of every woman that the Petty Officer worked with on her last assignment, boss."

"So we've got a possible killer, but no motive…"

The team all looked at Andy, and he shrugged. "Don't look at me. I've got nothing."

* * *

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	9. Chapter 8

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p>Andy took a deep breath before plugging the memory device into the computer. After a few clicks, he managed to bring up everything on the memory device. He stared at it in confusion.<p>

"What the…"

* * *

><p>Andy couldn't hold back the grin on his face as he followed Gibbs and Ziva onto the shooting range. He watched as people shot from pistols, hitting targets time after time. Finally, the trio stopped at the end. Gibbs put the sniper rifle down and took out his pistol, loading it with the magazine before handing it to Andy.<p>

"Shoot the target," he commanded, pointing at the target at the end of the range. Andy frowned.

"What, now?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yes, now."

Andy looked at the gun uncertainly, shifting it in his hands.

"What, never shot a gun before, Andy?" Gibbs asked. Ziva looked over from her position on the range. Andy shook his head.

"No, not really. There was this one time that I accidentally got into my Dad's gun cupboard once and used his pistol, but that's about it. I only shot two bullets before it was taken off me." Andy smirked. "Boy, was I in trouble after that…"

Gibbs smirked. "You know how to stand?"

"You mean my stance?"

"Yeah, that."

Andy stood, legs shoulder-width apart, facing the target. "Like this, right?"

Gibbs raised his eyebrows in approval and nodded. Andy took a deep breath and held the gun up, aiming at the target before he shot. Three times.

The target paper was brought back towards them, and Andy frowned at where the bullets had gone through.

They were near the target, but not near enough to kill. Ziva saw the frown on his face.

"That is good for a first time, Andy," she comforted him.

"But look at yours!"

Ziva looked at hers and noticed at least 90% of her bullets had hit the target. She shrugged. "I have had practice."

"Practice makes perfect, Parkson," Gibbs said from his spot on the other side of Andy. "Get used to it."

Andy nodded and had a few more practice shots, his bullets end up nearer to the target each time, until they stopped getting closer. Andy frowned. "I'm not getting any better."

"That's as close as you can get, then," Ziva commented. "Or, the best you can get right now. If you practice more, you could get better…"

"Can we come tomorrow?"

Ziva turned to Gibbs, who had a smirk on his face. She shrugged. "Ask Gibbs."

Andy turned to Gibbs. "Please?"

Gibbs sighed. "Maybe, Parkson, maybe. If we come tomorrow, though, you won't get to use the rifle today."

Andy shrugged. "Ok. If I get more practice in today, I'll be better tomorrow, right?"

* * *

><p>Jessie rummaged around in her brother's bag, looking for something. "Where's is it?" she whispered as she looked for the pen he had stolen from her. When she couldn't find it, she picked up the bag and tipped it out onto the bed. A silver object landed on top of the pile. She picked it up.<p>

_A memory stick._

She shrugged and put it back in the bag. It was probably something Alice had gotten him for homework or something. She continued on her rummage through the pile of school stuff and was so occupied that she didn't notice the bedroom door open.

"What are you doing?"

Jessie froze and turned to face her brother, who was standing at the door. "Uh…"

"Jess! How many times have I told you not to go through my bag?" Andy scolded as he ran over to put all the stuff back. As he was doing so, he took the memory stick and quickly stuffed it into his hoodie pocket.

"I was just looking for the pen you stole from me!" Jessie argued. "That was my favorite! It was from… Daddy."

Andy stopped. "You mean that blue and silver one you always have on you? The one that says '_Riptide_' on the side?"

Jessie nodded. "Please can I have it back? Please?"

Andy dug into his pocket and brought out the pen, handing it to his little sister. "I didn't have a pen to use for my homework. Sorry."

"You mean it didn't turn into a sword in your hand?" Jessie gasped. "I bet it did, but you're just not telling me!"

Andy smiled at his little sister. "Go play with Aegis." Jessie smiled and hugged her brother before running off. Andy sighed and fingered the memory stick in his hoodie pocket.

He couldn't tell Gibbs, could he? _It could get you arrested. They could be government secrets for all you know._ His mother said it could get a colleague fired. _What if that colleague was someone important, someone connected to the President…_

Andy shook his head and headed downstairs to the basement, where he was certain Gibbs would be. He found the old man sitting on a stool, drinking bourbon.

"Gibbs?"

Gibbs looked up from his glass and smiled at the boy. "Yeah?"

Andy looked where there once was a completed boat. "What happened to the boat?"

Gibbs smirked. "Burnt it."

Andy stared at him in confusion before smirking. "You burnt the boat? All you had to do was say we didn't do a good job."

Gibbs snorted. "You remind me a hell of a lot of DiNozzo, Parkson."

Andy smiled. "Thanks. And it's Andy or Andrew, never Parkson."

* * *

><p><strong>Review, people!<strong>


	10. Chapter 9

**Here's the next chapter.  
>Enjoy!<strong>

* * *

><p>Andy plugged the stick into the computer, more confident than last time as he knew there was no risk of viruses or anything. He pulled up the files on the memory stick and looked through them.<p>

_Previous Assignments… Co-Workers and Bosses… _

It seemed his mother kept a record of everyone she'd kept in contact with…

_International Contacts… Private Journals… Letters from Family…_

Andy was tempted to open the file with the letters in, but he kept on looking through everything…

_Allies and Enemies… Medical Files…_

Andy continued to scroll down…

_Top Secret…_

Andy continued… wait…

He scrolled back up. '_Top Secret_'? What could be in there? He opened the file and froze when he saw the first and only document in the file.

_Drug Dealings?_

He was about to click on it when he heard footsteps heading towards his door. He quickly closed the programs and took out the memory stick, turning off the screen in the process. Gibbs popped his head into Andy's room.

"What are you doing?" Gibbs asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Homework. I've just finished," Andy lied. Gibbs studied his face for a while before he nodded.

"Ziva and I are heading down to the shooting range today. Wanna come?"

Andy grinned. "Heck yeah!" He stood up and quickly turned off his computer, smiling broadly as he picked his coat off the end of his bed and followed Gibbs downstairs.

* * *

><p>The next Monday, Alice met Andy at the bus stop.<p>

"Andy, where were you on Saturday?" she demanded. Andy shrugged.

"Can't remember."

Alice glared at him as they headed towards their school. "We were meant to go to the movies on Saturday! You even said you wanted to go see that new film!"

Andy bit his lip. "Sorry, Al. I've just been a little busy. It's kinda hard at home."

"What's so hard, Andy? It's never this hard when your parents are at sea!" Alice studied his face. "You're hiding something. Tell me now."

Andy stared at her in shock. "How did you…" Then he narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't have to tell you." He stepped past her and headed for the school.

Alice ran to catch up with him. "Yes you do. You made a promise!"

"When?" Andy called back.

"When you became my best friend!"

Andy stopped.

"Andy, I just want to help."

He turned to face Alice. "You want to help? How about bringing my parents back from the grave?"

Alice stared at him in shock. "They're dead?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "How come you didn't tell me before? I thought you trusted me?"

"I do, it's just…" Andy sighed and thought about how he could explain it. "It's hard without my parents…"

Alice hugged him. "Don't worry, Andy. I'm always here for you." She pulled back from the hug. "Now, be honest – where were you on Saturday?"

Andy grinned. "Gibbs took me down to the shooting range. I got to use his sniper rifle!"

Alice stared at him in awe. "Awesome! Do you think he'd let me use it?"

Andy smirked. "If he wants us all to die, then yeah."

Alice mock-glared at Andy. "That's not funny."

"Then why am I laughing?"

* * *

><p>Andy stood at the bus stop, waiting for the bus, absolutely bored out of his mind.<p>

"Andy! You didn't wait for us?"

Andy turned to see two blonde figures running up to him. He smiled and waved at them as they approached him. "Hey Jon, hey Terry."

Jon and Terry stopped when they reached him. "We're heading to the movies with Alice later. Wanna come?" Terry asked, momentarily flicking his blond bangs out of his face before stopping when Jon eyed him suspiciously.

Andy frowned. "Won't it be pretty awkward if she was the only girl?" he asked, narrowing his eyes a little.

"We're bringing Ashley and Kate too," Jon added. Andy groaned.

"For the millionth time, and hopefully the last, I will not go out with Kate. I don't want to go out with Kate. She's just a friend!"

"We're not making you go out with Kate, Andy," Jon sighed. "We can see the way Alice glares when Kate flirts with you. Her brown eyes go all dark and evil and freaky!"

"Yeah, dude. I swear that blonde's got a crush on you," Terry smirked. Andy glared at them just as a blue Charger pulled up.

"You two are so lucky you're my best mates, otherwise I'd knock you out right now," he growled.

"Andy!"

Andy turned to see Tony pulled up at the bus stop. Andy sighed.

"Well, there's my ride. See ya!" Andy quickly pulled the car door open and jumped in before they other two could bombard him with questions. Tony pulled away as Andy put on his seatbelt.

"So, who were they?" Tony asked.

"Terry and Jon. They're my best guy mates," Andy explained before lapsing into a silence for the rest of the ride.

* * *

><p>Andy plugged the device into the computer and waited for the computer to load before opening the files on the memory stick. He scrolled down and clicked on the file that said <em>Top Secret<em>. The folder opened, and he clicked on the document that said _Drug Dealings_. He groaned.

It was password protected.

He racked his brain for a password before he heard footsteps outside his door. He quickly turned off the screen and span on his chair to see Jessie skipping into the room.

"Andy! Andy! We've gotta go! Gibbs is taking us to NCIS again!" Jessie yelled, pulling her brother from his seat. Andy chuckled.

"Alright! Alright! I'm coming!" He got up and pulled on his jacket, following Jessie as he made his way downstairs.

And he forgot that his computer was still on.


	11. Chapter 10

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p>Jessie smiled as she held up her picture. "Abby! Look at this!"<p>

Abby took the picture from Jessie's hands. "Cool! Did you draw it at school today?"

"Yeah."

It was another one of her demigod hero pictures, but this one was different. Instead of there being the characters from the Percy Jackson books, Abby could clearly see the MCRT members in there fighting. Ziva was drawn holding a spear, charging at the monster in the picture with a war-like look on her face. Abby was standing right near the edge, at the back of the battlefield, controlling what looked like zombies and skeletons as they advanced on the monster. Tony was up in the air, wearing winged shoes, holding another spear and he looked like he was about to throw it. McGee was on the ground, just behind Ziva, holding a dagger in one hand and what looked like a battle plan in the other. Ducky and Jimmy were standing in what looked like trees, and they were shooting arrows at the monster. And finally there was Gibbs, standing on a tidal wave behind the monster, looking as if he was about to stab it from behind.

Abby smiled. "This really cool, but I don't get the characters."

"Look on the back," Jessie told her. Abby did as she said and smiled as she read the seven-year-old's handwriting. The characters were explained clearly:

_Abby – Daughter of Hades  
>Ziva – Daughter of Ares<br>McGee – Son of Athena  
>Tony – Son of Hermes<br>Ducky – Son of Apollo  
>Jimmy – Son of Apollo<br>Gibbs – Son of Poseidon_

"Wow! You really think I'm a daughter of Hades?" Abby asked.

"Yeah, I do. Do you like it?" Jessie asked uncertainly.

"I love it!"

Gibbs walked into the lab just at that moment. "What ya got, Abs?"

"This picture! Look at it! Isn't it cool?" Abby showed Gibbs the picture that Jessie had drawn. Gibbs glared at her and took the picture.

"About the case, Abby?"

"Oh, right." She turned to her computer. Jessie quickly moved out of the way.

"Well, after looking through all of the women aboard the ship our Petty Officer was on, we managed to find…" Abby added up the numbers on the screen. "…about two hundred suspects!" She turned to find Gibbs staring at her, one eyebrow raised. "Ok, so it was more like one hundred, but still…"

Gibbs set the Caf-Pow on the table and pecked Abby on the cheek. "Good job. Now narrow them down." Gibbs looked at the picture and smiled fondly. "This is a really nice picture Jessie."

"Really?" Jessie asked, ecstatic.

"Yeah. I love it. I'll put it on the fridge when we get home."

Jessie grinned and followed Gibbs out of the lab, only briefly stopping to give Abby a hug. Abby smiled as the little girl slipped out after Gibbs.

"She's a real Gibblet, she is."

* * *

><p>Andy walked over to his computer screen, turning it on when he noticed the main computer was on. As soon as he heard Gibbs' footsteps outside the door, he quickly turned off the screen but was still sitting at the desk when Gibbs' head poked around the door.<p>

"Thought you were gonna shower?" Gibbs asked.

"In a sec," Andy sighed as he stood up and grabbed his pajama bottoms from his dresser. He took off his hoodie and chucked it onto his bed before leaving the room. Gibbs raised his eyebrow at the boy, but said nothing as the boy entered the bathroom.

That's when he noticed the computer on.

Gibbs frowned and went to turn on the screen. He frowned when he read the file name at the top of the screen.

_Top Secret_.

What could be so top secret that Andy wouldn't tell him?

He opened the file and nearly went bug-eyed in shock. _Drug Dealings_? He was involved in _drug dealings_? He glared at the screen.

He was gonna have a talk with that boy.

* * *

><p>Andy toweled his hair dry as he walked out of the bathroom in just his pajama shorts. He was thinking of possible passwords for the file when he suddenly froze. His bedroom door was open.<p>

Gibbs would usually shut it after him.

Andy shrugged. It was probably Jessie again. He walked into his room and froze again. It wasn't Jessie in his room.

It was Gibbs.


	12. Chapter 11

**Hey readers! Enjoy the chapter!**

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><p><em>Last chapter:<em>

_He walked into his room and froze again. It wasn't Jessie in his room._

_It was Gibbs._

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><p>"What is this?" Gibbs asked, holding up the silver memory stick. Andy glared at him.<p>

"Who said you were allowed into my room?" Andy growled. "It's an invasion of privacy!" He stepped forward and reached for the memory stick, but Gibbs pulled it away from his reach.

"What is this?" Gibbs repeated.

"I don't have to tell you. Give it back!" Andy reached for it again, but Gibbs only pulled it out of his reach.

"Andrew," Gibbs warned. Andy sighed.

"It's my mom's memory stick. She told me to take care of it no matter what happened to her." Andy narrowed his eyes at Gibbs. "Everything you saw on that stick was hers, not mine."

Gibbs growled. "And you didn't tell me about this because?"

"Because I didn't want to. Deal with it." Andy ground his teeth. "Now get out."

"I was going to anyway – I'm heading to the Navy Yard." Gibbs stormed out of the room and down the stairs. Andy slammed the door behind the older man.

"Damn that man," he groaned.

"Andrew! Jessica! Let's go!"

Andy pulled on a random t-shirt with his hoodie and socks and grabbed his trainers and his phone, sulking as he trudged down the stairs.

"Get into the car," Gibbs growled lowly.

"Fuck you," Andy growled in response. Jessie stared at her brother in horror as she followed him to the car.

Never had she heard that language come out of his mouth. Never.

* * *

><p>Andy was sulking as he stormed into the bullpen, glaring at anything he could. Jessie ran over to Ziva and quickly hid behind her seat, scared. Andy just sat in Gibbs' chair and glared at the desk. When Gibbs walked in, Andy almost managed to ignore him.<p>

"Get out of my seat," Gibbs commanded.

"Fuck off," Andy replied before rolling the chair next to Tony's desk. All three agents stared at the boy in shock before Gibbs tossed the memory stick at McGee.

"Look through the '_Top Secret_' file on this thing and tell me everything that's on it," Gibbs commanded. McGee flipped the thing over in his hand a few times.

"Whose is it?" he asked.

"My mom's," Andy replied, still sulking and glaring at the floor. McGee nodded and inserted it into his computer, clicking on a few things before coming up to the _Top Secret_ file. McGee clicked on the document in the folder.

"It's password protected," McGee muttered before pulling up a program. Andy just watched as he broke into his mother's memory stick. He stormed off to the men's room, not even glancing back at the bullpen where everyone was staring at him in shock apart from Gibbs.

"What's wrong with Andy?" McGee asked. Jessie shrugged.

"He was like that earlier too," she informed the team.

"I will go speak to him," Ziva said, getting up from her chair.

"No, _I_ will speak to him," Tony said, quickly walking out of the bullpen and heading straight to the men's room. As soon as he entered, he saw Andy leaning over one of the sinks.

"Yo, Andy!" Tony greeted. Andy just continued to stare at his reflection.

"Andy?"

"I hate him."

Tony frowned. "Who?"

Andy turned and glared at him. "Is it that hard to work out?"

"Oh…" Tony's mouth made an 'o' shape as he realized who he was talking about. "What happened?"

"He looked through my stuff."

Tony smirked. "That it?"

Andy glared at him. "You know that memory stick McGee's looking through right now? That was what my _mom_ gave to me. She trusted me with it. And then Gibbs comes along and looks through it without my permission." Andy turned and kicked the door to one of the stalls open.

Tony sighed and let Andy take out his anger on the door. When Andy had finally finished, he slid down onto the floor, head in his hands. Tony joined him.

"You know, Gibbs has made me mad many times before. Heck, he's made lots of people mad just by working with him," Tony joked.

"Are you saying this time's no different?" Andy asked, still glaring slightly.

"No. I'm saying that no matter what Gibbs will do something to hurt you, but it will always be worth it in the end." Tony put his hand on Andy's shoulder. "This could be what helps us find the killer, Andy."

Andy looked up at Tony. "You sure?"

"Gibbs always does stuff for a reason."

Andy smiled. "Thanks Tony. But this still doesn't mean I absolutely forgive Gibbs."

Tony smirked. "Of course – you have to give that time, but you'll get used to it the longer you know him. Look at the Director."

Andy laughed. "Yeah, I guess he goes through hell all the time."

"Yeah. Look, Andy, just…" Tony thought about what he should say. "…take your time, but forgive him in the end. It'll be worth it." He stood and walked over to the door.

"Tony?"

Tony turned to look at the teenagers as he opened the door. "Yeah?"

Andy smiled at him. "Thanks."

Tony nodded. "No problem." He left the bathroom without another word, and Andy sat against the wall, thinking. Should he forgive him? Andy curled his hand into a fist, brought it up to his mouth and started biting his knuckles – a habit that he'd gained as a young child. Finally he came to a conclusion.

He'd forgive him.

But not before thinking over it more.

He pulled his phone out and dialed a number, waiting for the person to pick up.

"_Hello?_"

"Hey, Alice, it's Andy. I need to talk to you about something…"

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><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	13. Chapter 12

**Enjoy this chapter, readers!**

* * *

><p>Andy sat quietly in the back seat next to Jessie as Gibbs drove them home.<p>

It was about nine o'clock and the team was still finding leads for the case, although they had a motive. Andy had managed to calm down, but as soon as Jessie yawned Gibbs demanded them to sit in the car so that he could take them home. Jessie was now sleeping in the car, and Andy was staring out the window, thinking.

As soon as he and Jessie were put to bed, without a word from Gibbs – they were still a bit mad with each other – Andy got up and grabbed his phone off his bedside table, putting on some jeans and a t-shirt quietly. He slipped on his hoodie and opened his bedroom door, checking to make sure no one was up. He snuck down the stairs and was about to go to the front door when he noticed the basement door slightly ajar. Rather than going over to see what Gibbs was doing, as he usually did, he turned to the door and walked through it, closing the door quietly behind him. As soon as he felt he was in the clear, he dialed a number.

"Hey, Alice," he greeted.

"_Andy? What's up with you? I mean, our conversation earlier was really awkward…_"

"I'll tell you later." He thought about it. "Actually, meet me at the park in five." He turned off the phone and started his ten-minute walk to the park.

He didn't see the black car a few meters behind him. Nor did he see the pair in the car, wearing black balaclavas and hoods, watching him as he walked to the park alone.

* * *

><p>Gibbs leaned over the skeleton of his new boat, thinking with a glass of bourbon in his hand.<p>

Andy had seemed pretty mad when he had reluctantly handed over the memory stick earlier on. Had he done something wrong?

'_You always do that to people, don't expect Andy to be any different…_' a voice in his head said. Gibbs frowned. But hadn't he taken care of the boy, cared for him, even proved his _trust_ in him?

'_You can't trust everybody – Andy is just proof,_' the voice continued. Gibbs sighed. That boy was just too much for him.

Then heard footsteps coming from upstairs, and he knew Andy was up there. He heard the footsteps pause, as if contemplating coming downstairs to him, and he didn't blame the boy for not coming down. He went back to thinking and grabbed his saw to carry on working on his boat, not hearing the footsteps to continue their journey to the front door and open and close as the person went outside.

* * *

><p>When Alex reached the park, he spotted a clump of strawberry blonde hair on the head of someone sitting on one of the benches. Andy smiled as he recognized his best friend, flicking through her I-Pod Touch. Andy smirked and stood beside the bench, waiting for the girl to notice him. When Alice finally did notice him, she jumped.<p>

"Holy… what the heck, Andy?" she exclaimed, her brown eyes glaring at him.

Andy just smirked. "Sorry, it's just so funny."

"Well, I'm glad you had your laugh. Now what did you want to talk to me about? I had to sneak out of family night for this."

Andy sighed. "I'm a little… confused."

"What about?"

Andy sighed. "I don't want to talk about it here."

Alice rolled her eyes and got up, strolling over to the nearest tree with low branches. She quickly climbed the first few branches and sat in the fifth one up. "Come on, Andy!"

Andy smiled and climbed the tree, sitting on the branch just beside Alice's.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"It's about… something I found…"

A black car pulled up at the curb, and two people climbed out, hiding in the bushes of the park.

"What did you find?"

"I found a memory stick…"

The two people listened intently, confident that their dark outfits would prevent them from being seen by the two teenagers.

"What, where? Who gave it to you?"

"Calm down! I'm not there yet!" Andy took a deep breath as he started explaining. "About a week ago, I was looking through my bag for homework when I found a memory stick, it belonged to my mom. On it was some important information. I looked through it, and it was – how do I put it – really job-threatening. Well, not really, because I didn't get round to cracking the password to one of the files."

One of the people took out an object that glistened silver in the street lights.

"What happened next?"

"Earlier this evening, Gibbs found it." Andy only just managed to remember that he had told Alice about him staying with the NCIS Special Agent.

"Really? Is that why you told me you two weren't talking earlier? Because that seemed really weird, considering you two were all buddy-buddy the other day."

"Yeah, I know."

"Does he know where you are?"

"Do _your_ family know where you are?"

"Good point."

The one holding the object pointed it and aimed it.

"So," Alice started, "where is it now?"

Andy didn't get to answer, because at that moment a gunshot went off. The bullet chipped the tree right beside Alice's hand. She moved it and jumped in shock, falling backwards and screaming.

"ALICE!" Andy grabbed her hand, only to be pulled down by her. The pair landed on the floor in a crumpled heap, both landing on their sides.

Andy opened his eyes blearily, knowing he must've hit a branch on the way down. Black spots danced in his eyes, and he only just managed to focus on the figure lying beside him. "Alice?" he choked. She didn't stir. He moved to sit up, but was stopped by a strong pain in his right side. He winced and lay back down. He saw two figures coming up to him. "Help," he croaked, before pain overcame him. The last two words he heard before he passed were:

"Grab them."

* * *

><p>Gibbs woke up to find his cell ringing by his head. He groaned and sat up, annoyed with himself. He'd managed to fall asleep on the boat again. He picked up his phone and looked at the caller ID, answering when he saw it was DiNozzo.<p>

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"_Boss? We have an issue down at the office._"

"And…?"

"_Boss, we need you to come down right away. It's urgent._"

Gibbs sighed. "I'm on my way, DiNozzo." He got up and checked the time on his clock. 3am. The agents had been there all night?

He grabbed a clean shirt and a hoodie, putting them on before heading upstairs to leave. He had a feeling that he should go upstairs to check on the kids, but decided Andy could take care of both of them before heading out to his car.

When he reached the office, he walked into the bullpen to find McGee and Ziva trying to comfort a woman whilst Tony was sitting at his desk, waiting anxiously for something, or someone.

"Boss!" Tony called out as soon as he saw him. Gibbs nodded once.

"What was the big emergency, DiNozzo?" he asked. Tony motioned over to where the woman was sitting. McGee and Ziva stood up, pulling the woman up with them. Gibbs studied the woman.

The woman was in her early forties, maybe even her mid-forties by the small wrinkles on her face although they could have been worry lines. She had long strawberry blonde hair, which was slightly frizzy and curled at the ends. Her eyes were a deep brown, and Gibbs could see that she had dimples in her cheeks. Her stature was one of someone who served in the Navy or the military, possibly a Petty Officer from the records they had looked through. He definitely recognized the features from one of the photos of the female petty officers Petty Officer Parkson worked with overseas, and he also recognized the features from one of Andy's photos with his friends. What was the girl's name? _Amy… Alex… Allie…?_

"Boss, this is Petty Officer Mary-Ann Miller," McGee introduced the sobbing woman. She immediately steeled up, although her eyes were still red form crying.

"Agent Gibbs," she greeted. Gibbs nodded.

"I am glad I was able to get in contact with you. Alice told me the little information she had retrieved from Andy," she explained.

_Alice! That was the name!_

"Is there a reason for you turning up in my office at 3am, Petty Officer Miller?" Gibbs asked.

Mary-Ann frowned. "You don't know?"

"Don't know what?" Tony asked, moving from behind his desk.

Mary-Ann took a deep breath. "My daughter, Alice, is missing."

Gibbs frowned. "And?"

"The last time she spoke to me she was trying to sneak out, but I caught her. She said she was going to meet Andy at the park."

"Andy's at home."

"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure I was there when Alice received the call and called Andy back to make sure she heard him right."

Gibbs' eyes widened in horror. "Shit."

"What is it, Boss?" McGee asked.

"Jessie is home alone."

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><p>Gibbs pulled up at his house, leaping out of the car and running into the house and leaving the two other agents to catch up. He raced up the stairs onto the landing and burst into Jessie's room, not noticing the broken vases and lamps in the corridor. When he got into Jessie's room, he expected the worst. And he got it.<p>

Jessie was gone.

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><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	14. Chapter 13

**Hey readers! Here's the next chapter - enjoy!**

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><p>When Andy became conscious, he found he was in the back of a moving van, bouncing in the back. He winced as he hit his head against the floor.<p>

"Ow…" he groaned.

"And now you decide to come back to the world of the living?"

Andy turned his head to see Alice sitting against the back wall, her blonde hair frizzy and messed up as if she'd just gotten out of bed. Her brown eyes were piercing.

"Uh… yeah?" Andy answered nervously. He saw the anger in Alice's eyes increase tenfold. _Oops_, he thought.

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><p>Gibbs paced around the living room nervously. He wasn't scared. He wasn't scared. Oh, who was he kidding? He was terrified!<p>

Tony watched his boss pace nervously around the living room of his house, a frown ever growing on his usually serious face. "Boss? Boss!"

Gibbs snapped out of his worried state. "What, DiNozzo?"

"We might be able to get some prints off that broken vase."

"What broken vase?"

"You know, the one in the… never mind." Tony dismissed his thought at the look on Gibbs' face.

"Anything else?"

"McGee said he found some footprints on Jessie's carpet, so we could match the footwear there. Ziva said she could pull some fingerprints off some of the stuff in Jessie's room too, just to see if the kidnapper took or touched anything else."

Gibbs smiled. "Good work, DiNozzo."

Tony stared at his boss in shock. "You serious, Boss?"

"Yeah I'm sure."

"Gee, thanks Boss!"

Gibbs rolled his eyes at the agent. He turned to the stairs when he saw the two younger agents, McGee and Ziva, coming down.

"Find anything?" Gibbs asked.

"It seemed like there was a bit of a struggle, as there are broken vases and lamps along the corridor upstairs. We have nothing else to go on apart from the footprints and fingerprints," Ziva explained. She held up a bag with all the fragments in. "I bagged all the evidence."

"Good work." Gibbs smiled at Ziva. "Call Abby and get back to base with the evidence. DiNozzo, go with her."

"Yes, Boss," Tony answered before following Ziva out to the car. McGee suddenly frowned.

"Uh, Boss?"

"Yeah, McGee?" Gibbs answered.

"Has Andy got a cell phone?"

Gibbs frowned as he thought about it. "Yeah, I'm sure he takes it everywhere with him."

McGee smiled. "Has he charged it recently?"

"I think he charged it last night… before he went out. I saw it when I checked on him before he went."

McGee grinned. "Yes! Boss, I think we can find them! I can track Andy's phone and get their location."

"That's good, McGee." Gibbs patted the younger agent's shoulder. "Good job. Now let's head back to the office so that we can call him."

"You've got his number, right?" McGee asked.

"How the hell would we be able to call him, McGee?"

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><p>Andy sat back to back with Alice, their hands still tied up, in the back of the van. Alice sat staring at the back doors whilst Andy faced the small window that allowed them to look into the front of the van. He was just about to nod off when he felt a vibration in his back pocket. Then the sound came.<p>

The start to _Fireflies_ by Owl City.

Alice frowned. "Is that your phone?"

"Yeah," Andy answered. The only people that called him at any time were Alice and…

"Alice, reach into my back pocket and get my phone out," he commanded.

"Wha…?"

"Just do it!"

Alice moved her hands. "Which one?"

"The right one."

Alice used her hands to reach for the phone. Andy gasped.

"Alice! I said my pocket!"

"Sorry," she apologized as she took her hand out and put into the right pocket and pulled out the vibrating phone. She quickly flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Put it on speaker," Andy directed. Alice pressed a few buttons randomly, hoping she was pressing the right things, when suddenly the speakerphone came on. Andy shifted away from her and spun to face the phone, and Alice did the same.

"_Hello? Hello?_"

"Hello?" Andy asked. "Who is this?"

"_What, didn't you look at the number, Parkson?_"

"No, I didn't manage to look at it before…" Andy's mind clicked when he realized whose voice it was. "Gibbs!"

"_Where are you Parkson?_"

"I'm in a van."

"_Heading north?_"

"I dunno. Is that what it looks like?"

"_Boss, how did he know we were tracing him?_" Andy heard McGee ask in the background.

"Because he's that kind of person," Alice stated. "If you have a problem with that, deal with it."

"_You got a feisty one there, ain't ya, Andy?_" Tony teased.

Andy blushed. "Shut up, Tony."

Suddenly, the van stopped, and both Andy and Alice were thrown towards the front of the van. Andy groaned when he hit his head and Alice let out a muffled cry. The back doors of the van opened, and a female wearing a black mask stood at them. Andy and Alice froze, knowing they were caught.

"_You two ok?_"

"They're just fine." The female answered. "But they'll be going now." She picked up the phone and closed it, ending the call. She took off the mask, and a young woman with light blue eyes and long blonde hair was revealed. She glared at the two teenagers.

"Shit," Andy muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	15. Chapter 14

"Boss, we've nearly got…"

The line cut off. McGee frowned and Gibbs slammed the phone back on its stand.

"What did you get, McGee?" Gibbs demanded.

"We only got an area of a two mile radius, Boss," McGee concluded. "But it's not hard to see where they are. It looks like there's only one abandoned warehouse in the area. The rest are shops."

"He could still be hidden in a shop, McGee," Gibbs pointed out.

"So could Alice," Tony added. "They could be separated."

"Gibbs!" Ziva ran out of the elevator. "Gibbs! Abby has something!"

"Then why didn't she call me?"

"The line was busy."

Gibbs rolled his eyes at the Goth's excuse before heading down to the lab himself.

When he got into the lab, no loud music was playing. Instead, the music was calmer and quieter. He stepped into the lab carefully, suspicious of what the Goth was planning.

"Don't be afraid to come in, Gibbs. I won't bite."

Gibbs chuckled as he walked in. "What you got, Abs?"

"Our kidnapping Petty Officer!" She announced. "Or should I say, Petty Offic_ers_. The plural form." She clicked a few buttons. "Petty Officers Kelly Hartson, Macy Harps and Janet Miller."

Their pictures came up on the screen.

"Petty Officer Mary-Ann's sister?" Gibbs asked, pointing at Janet Miller's picture.

"Actually, it's her sister-in-law, but they look remarkably alike. DNA confirms that they're not biologically related, though." Abby smiled at Gibbs. "You see a connection yet?"

"No."

Abby smiled. "All three Petty Officers were involved in the drug dealings that were mentioned on the memory stick, Gibbs. I examined it, and all three names were on there. However, Hartson's name came up at least five or six times. The others were only two or three times." She clicked another button, and three fingerprints came up on the screen. "All three of their fingerprints came up on the vase, Gibbs. They were all at the house."

Gibbs pecked the Goth on the cheek. "Thanks Abs."

"No problem Gibbs," she called out as he left the room. Her smile disappeared immediately.

She hoped they would find them.

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><p>Andy saw the wince that passed across Alice's face as she was dragged out of the truck by the woman. He gritted his teeth to avoid himself from saying something. He was reached for next.<p>

"Hey!" Andy yelled as the woman pulled on his arm. "That's my bad arm!"

"Tough," she replied. Andy nearly froze when he heard the voice. Where had he heard it before?

"Macy should be here with the other kid soon," the first one said. "Let's dump these two inside."

Andy groaned as his bad arm was dragged inside an old warehouse and he was dropped on the floor. Alice was dropped beside him, and she moaned when she hit her arm on the ground. As soon as the warehouse door was closed, Andy sat up painfully and surveyed the room.

It was a large warehouse, with grey walls and a cold concrete floor. There were windows, but they were nearer to the ceiling, which meant they were about five meters high. There were two doors, both of which happened to be on the same side of the room. Only one had a window in it, and Andy guessed that that was the door that led outside. A groan brought him out of his thoughts.

"You ok, Al?" Andy whispered. Alice carefully sat up.

"Yeah, but my arm kills," she replied. She gasped as she took a deep breath. "And so do my ribs on my left side."

Andy got up, nearly falling after putting his weight on his right foot. "My foot must've caught a tree on the way down – I think I've sprained or twisted my ankle. My wrist hurts as well." He knelt down to take a closer look at Alice's arm. "I think you've broken it."

"Oh great," she groaned. She looked around. "How are we meant to get out of here?"

"You aren't."

The two turned to see the blonde woman standing with a dark-haired woman, holding a small person with a bag over their head between them.

"Sit in the chairs," the blonde haired woman commanded.

"What chairs?" Andy asked. The dark-haired woman pointed behind the pair, and Andy and Alice turned to see two chairs facing each other, about two meters apart.

"And why can't we just sit on the floor? It seems much more comfortable," Alice asked. Andy smirked.

"That is very funny, Miss Miller, but you will not be laughing when we are finished with you," the blonde woman said.

"Why are we here?" Andy demanded.

"Sit on the chairs and we will tell you, Mr Parkson."

"I want to know now!"

"Let me clarify. Sit on the chairs now or…" She lifted the hood off the small person's head. Alice gasped.

"…this one dies." The woman put the dagger to the person's throat. Andy fumed.

It was Jessie.

* * *

><p>"You got the coordinates, McGee?"<p>

"Yes, Boss."

"Then why isn't this damn thing working?"

"Actually, Boss, it isn't on."

Gibbs glared at the younger agent.

"Right, I'll turn it on." McGee got to work turning on the GPS and setting the coordinates for the warehouse. Mary-Ann sat in the back of the car, impatiently waiting for the agents to get on with it.

"How long is this meant to take?" she asked impatiently.

"If you think this is gonna take too long, then you can wait in the office," McGee suggested as he finished with the GPS.

"No. I'm coming with you."

"Mrs Miller…"

"My daughter is with him! I need to make sure she is ok!"

Gibbs sighed as he started the car. This was one stubborn woman.

* * *

><p>Andy glared at the dark-haired woman in front of him. "Let them go!"<p>

She stopped and moved the knife away from Alice's skin. "You want us to let those two go, do you?"

Andy looked at his younger sister, who had bruises in the shapes of hands on her cheeks and cuts on her legs and arms. She had tears running down her cheeks.

Alice had bruises on her cheeks, where she had been punched instead of slapped. Her arm was bent in an awkward position and had bruises littering it. Her legs were covered in cuts from when she had tripped trying to escape more than a couple of times, and each time she had been punished with another punch to the face.

Andy, however, was worst off. He had bruises not only littering his arms, legs and face, but he had bruises on his stomach and chest as well. There were cuts on his back from where he had taken Jessie's punishments as well, and his left eye seemed to be swollen partially shut. His ankle was also swollen now, and he was sure he had broken a few more ribs.

The dark-haired woman chuckled. "I will, as soon as you tell me where the memory stick is."

"I'll tell you everything I know! Just don't hurt them any more!"

A light-haired woman stepped into the room. "Is it my turn yet?"

The dark-haired woman smirked. "Oh yes. How much can you get out of the boy?"

The light-haired woman grinned evilly and held up a long thin knife. "I think I can get quite a lot out of him…"

* * *

><p>Gibbs made a sharp stop in front of the warehouse. "This it, McGee?"<p>

McGee looked at the GPS before nodding. "This is it, Boss."

Gibbs sighed as he got out of the car and waited for McGee and Petty Officer Miller to get out of the car and join him in front of the building. Tony pulled up in another car behind theirs, and he and Ziva climbed out.

"Right, DiNozzo, David, you stay by the doors. McGee and I will go in with Miller. That clear?" Gibbs ordered.

"Yes, Boss," Tony and Ziva answered. Gibbs nodded then signaled for McGee and Mary-Ann to follow him to the door. He took a deep breath before turning to McGee and nodding. McGee stood back, signaling for the Petty Officer to stand aside.

Gibbs took another deep breath. He just hoped they weren't too late.

* * *

><p>Andy groaned as he lay on the floor. His latest cut stung, and he was sure he was bleeding to death. Jessie was crying from her seat next to Alice and Alice was just glaring at the woman standing above him.<p>

Andy looked up at the woman. "I told you where the memory stick was…" he whispered.

"Liar!" the woman cried as he hit Andy again. Andy cried in pain.

"There was nothing at the house," she growled. "Now, tell me one last time, where is the memory stick?"

Andy gave up. "I don't know where Gibbs put it."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "You will pay." She brought her arm up with the knife in it.

"No!" Alice cried out.

Suddenly, the doors opened. "Federal Agents! Put the knife down!"

The woman smirked. "Alright then." She plunged the knife into Andy side. Andy screamed in pain, and didn't hear the gunshots that ended the woman's life. The last thing he heard before falling unconscious was the sound of a familiar voice crying out his name.

"Andy! Andy!"

It was Gibbs.

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><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	16. Chapter 15

**Luckily for you all, I managed to finish writing this story. I'll just update every couple of days or so, but not very often because I'll be studying (no homework... yet...)  
>Here's the next chapter, my eager readers. Enjoy!<strong>

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><p>Gibbs paced anxiously outside the hospital room, waiting for the doctor to finish with the check-up. There were three children in that room for her to take care of, but it didn't give her the excuse to take hours!<p>

A hand on his arm stopped him from moving any further. "Agent Gibbs, please. You'll wear out the tiles on the floor."

Gibbs smirked as he turned to face Petty Officer Miller. "You sure about that?"

She smiled back. "Certain."

The shock of finding her sister-in-law torturing her daughter had obviously worn off, and she was thankful to Gibbs for shooting her. She was just wondering how to break the news to her husband that his sister was shot. He would probably understand when she explained the whole story.

Gibbs sat down on the plastic hospital chairs, rubbing his temples. A cup of coffee was held in front of him. He looked up to see Ziva holding the cup.

"It is for you. Tony and McGee are doing the paperwork for you," she explained. Gibbs nodded as he took the cup. Before he took a sip, he looked at Ziva suspiciously.

"It is not the hospital's brand," she added. "I got it on the way here. I got the Petty Officer a cup too."

Gibbs nodded before taking a sip. He sighed. "That's some good coffee."

"Special Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs looked up at the doctor. She was young, with red hair and blue-green eyes. Her hair was slightly curly, and was held in a ponytail away from her face so that only her fringe was loose. Her fringe hung across her face, and she constantly had to push it aside.

"You may go in now."

"How are they?" Mary-Ann asked.

"Alice and Jessica seem to be healing nicely. Their bruises should be gone soon. Alice's ribs are also healing nicely. Jessica did need a few stitches for the cut in her leg, and Alice's arm is in a cast, but apart from that they're both fine. Andrew, however, he's a different story. Due to the amount of blood he lost, we had to do a transfusion, but it seems he's got his blood levels up again. His bruises are healing alright, his wrist is in a cast, and he needed stitches in his leg as well, but we managed to reduce the swelling on his right ankle. Luckily, the knife missed all his vital organs, so operating on him wasn't as hard as it possibly could have been. We had to set all the ribs on his right side back in place, and it also seems he hit his head. We originally thought he would have needed to be put on the ventilator, but he's breathing on his own now. We're just waiting for him to wake up." She took a deep breath. "His body is recuperating, so it might take a while, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded. "Thank you Doctor…"

"Martins. Doctor Larissa Martins." She held out her hand for Gibbs to shake. Gibbs took it in a firm grip.

"Thank you Doctor Martins." He walked past her into the room.

It was a plain room, with light grey walls and white floors just like every other room in the hospital. Alice's bed was to the right and Jessie's was to the left, with Andy's bed right in the middle.

Jessie was sitting up on her bed, drawing, whilst Alice had her eyes closed to slits, relaxing. Andy just lay in his bed, breathing slowly. Jessie looked up as soon as she saw the door open.

"Gibbs!" she exclaimed. Alice's eyes snapped open and they immediately settled on the grey-haired man.

"You're Andy's guardian?" she questioned. Gibbs nodded.

"Andy talks about you a lot, well, he did before this."

"Really?" Gibbs asked. He sat on a plastic chair between Andy's and Alice's beds.

"Yeah. He told me about that time you took him shooting, and all those times you had conversations whilst sanding the boat. You two were always happy together. I got concerned when he told me you two weren't talking, considering you were all buddy-buddy with each other. I mean, sometimes he said you were like his dad…" Alice trailed off at that sentence. Gibbs looked a little shocked.

"Oh no, I don't mean it seemed like you were trying to replace him," Alice amended when she saw the look on Gibbs' face. "I mean it was like you did things with him that he never got to do with his dad anymore. Ever since his dad got promoted, he was spending less and less time with him. Andy ended up taking woodwork class along with Phys Ed rather than extra biology just to feel like he was with his dad again."

Gibbs looked over at the still boy. He was like a father to him? He couldn't see it, but if the kid could, he might as well try. "How'd he hit his head?" Gibbs asked.

"He fell out of a tree." Alice thought about it for a second. "I'm guessing we both got concussions, because when I woke up we were in a van. Well, the doctor said I have a mild concussion, and so does Jessie, but Andy's was a little more serious."

Gibbs reached out and gently put his hand on Andy's before holding it in a careful but firm grip. Alice smiled.

"You should adopt him," she suggested. Gibbs' head spun.

"I… I can't…" he whispered.

"What do you mean you can't?" she asked suspiciously. "I mean, you look like the fatherly type. It's not that hard to adjust…" She smiled at the old man. "Well, I'm gonna catch some shut-eye. If my mom's outside, tell her to come right in. She's probably waiting for my dad." She closed her eyes, and within seconds, she was asleep.

Jessie had been concentrating so much on her picture that she didn't notice Gibbs' and Alice's conversation. Gibbs stood up from his seat and went over to Jessie, looking over her shoulder at the picture she had drawn.

"What you drawing, Jessie?" Gibbs asked. Jessie looked up at Gibbs.

"Nothing," she answered. Gibbs raised an eyebrow suspiciously at her before taking the piece of paper and looking at it, and he smiled.

The picture was a drawing of three people. The person on the left was the shortest, and they had curly red hair, green eyes and freckles. They wore a grey t-shirt with a lightening bolt on it with blue shorts and grey trainers, and they were also wearing a silver anklet, which made the person look very feminine. On the person's waist hung a sword in its sheath.

The person on the right was taller but about a head or two, with brown hair that landed in their green eyes. They wore an army fatigue shirt with brown shorts, and a pair of working boots. They were also wearing a green cap and they were leaning on a gun – a sniper rifle to be exact.

The final person, the person in the centre, was the tallest, but not by more than a few centimeters. They had blue eyes and silver-grey hair, and they were wearing a grey suit with a white shirt. On the outer pocket of the suit jacket, there was a badge, and if looked at closely enough it was seen to read '_NCIS Special Agent_'. On their hip was a holster, and a pistol was revealed.

All three people were smiling. Gibbs smiled. He obviously recognized the people in the picture. On the right was Jessie, on the left was Andy, and in the middle was him. He looked at Jessie.

"The picture's great," he said. Jessie beamed.

"Thank you."

"I'll put it up on the fridge when I get home."

"Really?"

"Yup, next to your other picture."

Jessie grinned. "Yay!" She yawned.

"Get some sleep, Jessie," Gibbs instructed. Jessie frowned.

"But I'm not…" She trailed off at the look on Gibbs' face. "Ok." She closed her eyes and lay back on the bed, her head against the pillow. Gibbs smirked and ruffled her hair.

"Sleep well, Jess," he whispered.

"Love you Gibbs," she mumbled before drifting off. Gibbs froze before doing something he never thought he'd do.

He kissed her forehead.

"Love you too, Jess," he whispered back.

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><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	17. Chapter 16

For the next three days, Gibbs stayed at the hospital to keep Alice and Jessie, and the still unconscious Andy, company. Every visiting hour, someone else would visit, like Alice's mother or father, but Gibbs was there continuously. It wasn't until the fourth day that something happened.

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><p>Gibbs sat next to Andy's bed, his head resting by the boy's arm and his hand on top of Andy's, lightly sleeping. Jessie and Alice were dozing lightly, stealing a quick nap before the hospital served what they called lunch.<p>

After about ten minutes of dozing, Gibbs felt something. He frowned. _What was moving?_ There was more movement, and Gibbs opened his eyes. He was staring in shock when he saw it.

Andy's hand was moving.

He quickly sat up and grabbed the boy's hand, squeezing it gently. "Andy, wake up."

Andy squeezed back, and groaned as he took a deep breath.

"Come on, Andy. Wake up," Gibbs urged, squeezing Andy's hand again.

Andy squeezed back before slowly opening his eyes. The green irises looked frantically around the room before they settled on the grey-haired man sitting by his left arm. "Gibbs?" he choked out.

Gibbs smiled before reaching out and pressing the call button. Andy coughed.

"Water," he whispered painfully.

"Don't talk," Gibbs ordered. "The nurse is coming."

Andy nodded, and then winced at the pain it caused. He brought up his right hand to touch his head but froze when he saw the cast on his wrist. He stared at Gibbs in confusion.

"Gi…" he started.

"Don't talk," Gibbs ordered. "Didn't I tell you not to before?"

Andy smirked. Just then the nurse came into the room.

"Hello, Andrew. Nice to see that you're finally awake," she greeted.

Andy grimaced at the use of his full name. The nurse caught it and smiled.

"You don't want me to call you Andrew?"

Andy shook his head slowly.

"Then what shall I call you?"

"A… A…" Andy tried to talk, but his throat was dry and sore.

"Here." The nurse walked up to the right side of the bed and held out a cup with a straw in it. Andy sucked on it greedily. When he finished, he smiled sheepishly at the nurse.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

"You're very welcome, Andrew."

"It's Andy."

"Ah… Andy." The nurse smiled at Gibbs. "A very nice boy, he is. You'd be lucky to have him."

Gibbs was about to say that Andy wasn't his when the nurse walked away.

"Andy? You're awake?"

Andy turned to his right to see Alice beaming at him. He shrugged.

"I guess I am," he smirked.

"Yay!" Jessie cheered from her bed on the other side of Andy.

* * *

><p>The team smiled as Jessie showed them yet another picture.<p>

"This is McGee, and this is Tony, and this is Ziva…" she went on.

"Jessie, we get the picture," Andy sighed, although he was smiling.

"Just leave her to explain it, Andy," Alice ordered, grinning and Andy's glare. "You don't scare me."

"Really?" Andy asked.

"How are you feeling, Andy?" Abby asked, stopping their little argument. Andy shrugged.

"Ok I guess," he said. "Maybe a little tired…"

"Hungry?" Gibbs asked.

"Yup," Andy answered without hesitation. Abby frowned at him.

"How did you…"

"You gotta ask the right questions, Abs," Gibbs smirked. Andy pushed the button calling for a nurse, and soon after she came in holding a plate of pizza. Andy thanked the nurse before biting into it. He spat it out.

"It's stale," he groaned. Tony smirked.

"It's hospital food, Andy," he said. "I'll go buy you some pizza." He got up and walked out of the room. Gibbs stood up.

"I'm gonna get some coffee," he said before leaving the room.

"McGee and I have some paperwork to get to, so we will see you soon," Ziva said as she and McGee left. Abby stood up to leave.

"I'm gonna go wait for the pizza to arrive," she said before walking out. There was a silence in the room.

"Well, that was nice," Alice said sarcastically, breaking the silence.

A nurse walked into the room. "Oh, are you finished?" she asked Andy. Andy nodded, and handed his plate to her. The nurse took the plate and walked away. She stopped at the door. "By the way, there's a social worker here to talk with you," she nodded at Andy before she walked out of the room.

"Social worker?" Andy, Jessie and Alice asked at the same time.

* * *

><p>Gibbs walked into the room holding his cup of coffee, and immediately noticed the darkened atmosphere in the room. "What's up?" he asked.<p>

"Social worker's here," Andy answered bluntly. Tony walked into the room holding a box of pizza.

"What going on?" he asked.

"Social worker's here," Gibbs repeated.

"You mean that guy in the waiting room?" Tony asked. "He wasn't that bad. Plays basketball you know." He placed the pizza on the table by Andy's bed.

"Don't care," Andy said. Tony walked out of the room.

Not long after, a black man walked into the room. He was about six feet tall with his hair shaved so that it was really short. He had dark brown eyes, and he looked quite young, about 25 or so. He was wearing a light blue t-shirt with dark jeans, and white trainers. He smiled at Andy as he walked into the room.

"Hey, you must be Andy," he greeted. He smiled at Jessie. "And you must be Jessie. I'm Jerome Hartson, your social worker." He nodded at Gibbs. "You're Special Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded.

"Agent Gibbs, do you mind if I talk to Andy and Jessie alone?"

Gibbs glared at the young man, but he stepped out of the room. When he got out, he found the rest of his team standing outside to door. They all had worried looks on their faces.

"He's going, isn't he?" Tony asked.

"They both are, Tony," McGee corrected him. Abby ran up to Gibbs with a worried look on her face.

"Please say they're not going, Gibbs. Please!" she begged. Gibbs put his hands on Abby shoulders.

"It's not my choice, Abby," he said before he hugged her. She cried into his shoulder.

* * *

><p>Andy looked at the social worker worriedly. "We have to leave, don't we?"<p>

"I'm sorry, Andy, but Agent Gibbs isn't your legal guardian. Until you turn eighteen, you and your sister will be staying at an orphanage," Jerome apologized. Jessie pouted.

"But I don't want to leave," she whimpered. "Do we have to leave, Andy?"

Andy glared at the man standing in front of him. "Will we stay together?"

Jerome shook his head. "It's likely Jessie will be fostered or adopted, but you'll be left behind. The same goes vice-versa."

Tears welled in Andy's eyes. "I hate you. Get out."

Jerome back out of the door slowly. "I'm sorry Andy." He closed the door behind him. Alice looked over at Andy.

"Andy…" she started.

"Not in the mood, Alice," he growled before pulling the sheets over his head. Jessie curled up on her bed and turned away from the two. Alice sighed.

"Have some pizza," she urged.

"Not hungry," he mumbled under the covers. Alice sighed.

* * *

><p>Tony watched as Jerome walked out of the kids' room. "Didn't go well with Andy, huh?"<p>

Jerome shook his head. "Either way, he's gonna have to go to the orphanage."

Gibbs watched the social worker walk out of the hospital, glaring at the young man. "What'd he say to you?" he called out.

Jerome turned to look at him. "What?"

"What did Andy say to you?" Gibbs asked. Jerome rubbed the back of his neck.

"He said he hated me," Jerome explained before leaving the hospital.

The team looked at each other. Andy was one tough boy.

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><p><strong>Review! Sorry if it's a little rubbish or sappy, but it's the best I could come up with!<strong>


	18. Chapter 17

**Two chapters in one day! Booyah!**

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><p>Gibbs drove slowly down his street, on his way home from the Navy Yard. It was about ten pm, and he seemed to be the only one on the road. The quietness fuelled his imagination, and he could still hear his voices in his head…<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>No! I won't go!"<em>

_Gibbs put his head in his hands. Not even four cups of coffee could have put him in a better mood. He'd need a whole bottle of bourbon tonight. "Andy…"_

"_Don't 'Andy' me! I don't want to go and you can't make me!"_

"_So what do you want me to do? Smuggle you into Mexico or something?"_

"_Actually…"_

"_Andy!"_

_Andy chucked the pizza box onto the floor in frustration. "Why can't you do anything about this? You're Special Agent Gibbs! The Legendary Special Agent Gibbs!"_

_Gibbs looked away. "Because I can't."_

_Andy fumed. "I hate you."_

_Gibbs looked up at Andy sharply. "What?"_

"_I hate you! You're a bastard!"_

_Gibbs glared at Andy. "You don't even know what the word means! You throw it around like it's something normal!"_

_Andy didn't even flinch. "I do know what the word means. And it is normal."_

"_It's not normal to hate everybody, Andrew!"_

_Tears welled up in Andy's eyes. "So we're back to formal names now?"_

_Gibbs froze. "Uh…"_

"_Get out."_

"_Andy…"_

_Andy picked up his pillow and threw it at Gibbs. "I said get out!"_

_Gibbs only just managed to catch the pillow before it hit his face. "Andy, please…"_

"_I don't care if you even beg me whilst hopping on one foot! Get out, get out, get out!" He pushed Gibbs out of the door. "I hate you and I don't ever want to see you again!" He slammed the door behind the old man._

_Gibbs sighed dejectedly. _He hates me,_ he thought._

* * *

><p>Gibbs pulled into the drive and parked the car, slamming his head on the steering wheel multiple times. <em>Wait, this is something DiNozzo would do<em>, he thought. He got out of the car and headed towards the house.

"_Gibbs! Look what I can do!"_

_Gibbs turned just in time to see Jessie attempt to do a cartwheel. She slipped and landed on the pavement with a thud._

"_Ow," she whimpered. Gibbs picked her up from the ground._

"_Let's get you inside and clean up that graze," Gibbs smiled at her. Jessie smiled at him._

"_Thank you Gibbs," she said as she snuggled into him._

* * *

><p>Gibbs looked over at the exact spot where Jessie had fallen. The image of her falling was stuck in his head. He turned back to the door and opened it, walking straight into the house. He paused in the doorway before walking into the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. The first picture on the fridge made him freeze.<p>

_Gibbs walked into the lab. "What ya got, Abs?"_

"_This picture! Look at it! Isn't it cool?" Abby showed Gibbs the picture that Jessie had drawn. Gibbs glared at her and took the picture._

"_About the case, Abby?"_

"_Oh, right." She turned to her computer. Jessie quickly moved out of the way._

"_Well, after looking through all of the women aboard the ship our Petty Officer was on, we managed to find…" Abby added up the numbers on the screen. "…about two hundred suspects!" She turned to find Gibbs staring at her, one eyebrow raised. "Ok, so it was more like one hundred, but still…"_

_Gibbs set the Caf-Pow on the table and pecked Abby on the cheek. "Good job. Now narrow them down." Gibbs looked at the picture and smiled fondly. "This is a really nice picture Jessie."_

"_Really?" Jessie asked, ecstatic._

"_Yeah. I love it. I'll put it on the fridge when we get home."_

_Jessie grinned and followed Gibbs out of the lab…_

* * *

><p>He looked at the other picture on the fridge.<p>

"_What you drawing, Jessie?" Gibbs asked. Jessie looked up at Gibbs._

"_Nothing," she answered. Gibbs raised an eyebrow suspiciously at her before taking the piece of paper and looking at it, and he smiled._

_The picture was a drawing of three people. The person on the left was the shortest, and they had curly red hair, green eyes and freckles. They wore a grey t-shirt with a lightening bolt on it with blue shorts and grey trainers, and they were also wearing a silver anklet, which made the person look very feminine. On the person's waist hung a sword in its sheath._

_The person on the right was taller but about a head or two, with brown hair that landed in their green eyes. They wore an army fatigue shirt with brown shorts, and a pair of working boots. They were also wearing a green cap and they were leaning on a gun – a sniper rifle to be exact._

_The final person, the person in the centre, was the tallest, but not by more than a few centimeters. They had blue eyes and silver-grey hair, and they were wearing a grey suit with a white shirt. On the outer pocket of the suit jacket, there was a badge, and if looked at closely enough it was seen to read 'NCIS Special Agent'. On their hip was a holster, and a pistol was revealed._

_All three people were smiling. Gibbs smiled. He obviously recognized the people in the picture. On the right was Jessie, on the left was Andy, and in the middle was him. He looked at Jessie._

"_The picture's great," he said. Jessie beamed._

"_Thank you."_

"_I'll put it up on the fridge when I get home."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yup, next to your other picture."_

_Jessie grinned. "Yay!"_

* * *

><p>Gibbs sighed and gave up on the coffee, deciding to go straight to bed. He climbed the stairs slowly and noticed the door to Andy's room slightly ajar. He paused and walked into what was formerly the boy's room.<p>

_As he neared the final bedroom at the end of the corridor, he heard the shouting become louder._

"_Get off my bed, Jessie!"_

"_Never! Not even Zeus could stop me!"_

"_Oh, shut up with all that Greek crap! They're not real!"_

"_They are in my world!"_

"_Well we're not in your frikin' world, Jess!"_

"_Call me Thalia or I shall smite you!"_

"_Shut the hell up!"_

_Gibbs opened the door to find Andy's duffel bags strewn all over the floor and his rucksack on a desk that had been placed in the room. The walls had some of Andy's original decorations on it, but that wasn't what made Gibbs smile._

_Andy was lying on the bed, seemingly trying to relax, whilst Jessie was jumping up and down on it. Andy's face was buried into the pillow._

"_Jessie! Get off!" he yelled as he lifted his head up. Jessie giggled and landed in a seat drop on Andy's legs._

"_OW!"_

_Gibbs smiled at their antics before heading down to the basement. He'd probably need the bourbon by the end of tonight._

* * *

><p>The room had been cleared. All that was left in it was a plain bed and some drawers. There were no posters on the wall, no pictures on the dresser, and even the computer had been taken. <em>DiNozzo really did a good job<em>, he thought. He sat on the bed and remembered the last conversation he'd had with Andy in the room.

"_What is this?" Gibbs asked, holding up the silver memory stick. Andy glared at him._

"_Who said you were allowed into my room?" Andy growled. "It's an invasion of privacy!" He stepped forward and reached for the memory stick, but Gibbs pulled it away from his reach._

"_What is this?" Gibbs repeated._

"_I don't have to tell you. Give it back!" Andy reached for it again, but Gibbs only pulled it out of his reach._

"_Andrew," Gibbs warned. Andy sighed._

"_It's my mom's memory stick. She told me to take care of it no matter what happened to her." Andy narrowed his eyes at Gibbs. "Everything you saw on that stick was hers, not mine."_

_Gibbs growled. "And you didn't tell me about this because?"_

"_Because I didn't want to. Deal with it." Andy ground his teeth. "Now get out."_

"_I was going to anyway – I'm heading to the Navy Yard." Gibbs stormed out of the room and down the stairs. Andy slammed the door behind the older man._

"_Damn that man," he groaned._

* * *

><p>He walked into his room and got changed before he headed downstairs to work on his boat. As soon as he got into his basement, however, the memories flooded him.<p>

_As Andy headed down the steps, he was amazed by what he saw._

_There was a boat._

_In the basement._

"_Woah," he whispered. Gibbs turned from where he was working on the boat to look at him._

"_You're awake?" he stated more than asked._

"_Couldn't sleep," Andy replied as he got to the bottom. He smiled as he ran his hands along the grain of the wood. Gibbs noticed it._

"_You like boats?"_

"_Dad used to take me boating and fishing. Once he tried to get me to help him build a boat." Andy smiled at the memory. "It failed, but it was fun. We stuck to building tree-houses after that." Andy didn't know why he suddenly felt at ease talking to Gibbs._

_Gibbs handed him a sander. "Wanna help?"_

* * *

><p>Gibbs smiled as his hand ran along the grain of the wood just like Andy's did whenever he came down into the basement.<p>

_Andy shook his head and headed downstairs to the basement, where he was certain Gibbs would be. He found the old man sitting on a stool, drinking bourbon._

"_Gibbs?"_

_Gibbs looked up from his glass and smiled at the boy. "Yeah?"_

_Andy looked where there once was a completed boat. "What happened to the boat?"_

_Gibbs smirked. "Burnt it."_

_Andy stared at him in confusion before smirking. "You burnt the boat? All you had to do was say we didn't do a good job."_

_Gibbs snorted. "You remind me a hell of a lot of DiNozzo, Parkson."_

_Andy smiled. "Thanks. And it's Andy or Andrew, never Parkson."_

* * *

><p>He sat on the stool in the corner and faced the staircase, smiling sadly to himself.<p>

_Andy smiled and continued to sand the boat until there was padding on the stairs. Both males looked up to see Jessie standing on the stairs, rubbing her eyes._

"_What's up, Jess?" Andy asked._

"_I had a nightmare, and I thought I heard talking," she answered timidly._

"_Well, Gibbs and I were just sanding the boat. You wanna join?" he asked. Jessie nodded and headed down the stairs, moving to stand between Andy and Gibbs. Gibbs handed her a sander whilst Andy brought over the stool for her to stand on. Jessie climbed onto the stool without difficulty and started sanding the boat._

"_With the grain Jessie," Andy reminded his younger sister. Jessie quickly switched, ignoring her brother's smirks._

"_Just because you're so good at building," she sulked._

"_You have an imagination, and I don't," Andy pointed out. Jessie shrugged._

"_You don't want one," she pointed out. Andy rolled his eyes at her reasoning before going back to his sanding._

* * *

><p>Gibbs thought about it. Even the bullpen reminded him of Andy…<p>

"_We've got nothing apart from the killer being female, about five feet seven," Tony continued. Gibbs sighed. A dead end._

"_Have you tried looking through all of their colleagues?" Andy asked. "Knowing my mom, she's bound to have done something to piss one of them off, though I'm not exactly sure it would end up with them being this extreme…"_

_McGee typed his keyboard. "Getting the details of every woman that the Petty Officer worked with on her last assignment, boss."_

"_So we've got a possible killer, but no motive…"_

_The team all looked at Andy, and he shrugged. "Don't look at me. I've got nothing."_

* * *

><p>He skipped the bourbon and the building and headed straight upstairs to his room, deciding to get some rest. Alice's words still rang in his head.<p>

_You should adopt him._

_Should he really? What if he failed?_

He continued to climb the stairs and walked into his bedroom, climbing into bed, thinking about his decision.

* * *

><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	19. Chapter 18

Gibbs sat at his desk, finishing all the needed paperwork on the current case. Well, the case that was just finished.

It had been about a week since Andy and Jessie had been moved to the orphanage, and he couldn't get any of his memories of them out of his head. He couldn't even drink bourbon without thinking about them.

He took a sip of his coffee. Heck, even his team wasn't surviving without them.

Tony looked like he felt awkward sitting in his chair, and Gibbs always found him staring at his desk as he came in. Ziva was a lot quieter, and she was always fingering something that looked like a picture that Jessie had drawn in her pocket. McGee was always doing his work – Gibbs didn't even catch him playing video games anymore.

But Abby was the worst. The music in her lab was always off, and she was never jumpy or happy anymore. When she thought Gibbs wasn't looking, she put up pictures of Andy and Jessie up on her computer, and once she even started playing 'Demigod Heroes' with herself, and had even brought in a plastic sword and shield to pretend she was Thalia, Lieutenant of the Hunters, Daughter of Zeus. Gibbs had smiled when he'd seen Abby playing, and had decided to leave her to it.

He finished his last piece of paperwork and put it in his pile, smiling at the fact that he'd finally finished. But inside he knew he was crumbling. _Was Alice right? Should I have done it?_

He got up from his desk. "I'm getting coffee," he stated before heading out of the bullpen. The team all watched him suspiciously.

"He's not getting coffee," Tony stated.

"How do you know?" McGee asked. Tony pointed at Gibbs' desk where a cup stood. Ziva went to pick it up, and smirked.

"The cup is empty," she said. "He is getting coffee."

* * *

><p>Gibbs parked his car and got out, taking a deep breath. <em>I hope I made the right decision<em>, he thought.

He was standing outside the orphanage where Andy and Jessie were meant to be kept, which happened to be quite close to both their schools. He walked confidently up the pathway and paused at the front door. _I hope I've made the right decision_, he thought before walking inside.

* * *

><p>Tony sat at his desk pondering. "He's been away for a long time."<p>

"So?" McGee asked.

"Well, he's not just getting coffee, is he?"

"What if the girl at the counter is a redhead?" Ziva asked. Tony glared at her.

"Are you trying to imply something, Agent David?" he asked.

"No, I am not," Ziva defended. "I am just saying that you should not be trying to watch over Gibbs so much. How would you feel if someone was watching over your life and being suspicious of your every move?"

Tony shrugged. "Uncomfortable."

"Exactly. Leave Gibbs to do his own thing."

* * *

><p>Gibbs sat in the orphanage waiting room, waiting for the receptionist to deal with his request. She smiled at him warmly.<p>

"They should be down shortly. One of the workers has just been sent up to get them," she explained. Gibbs nodded and continued to wait. Suddenly, there was a shout.

"Gibbs!"

His eyes shot up to see a short red-headed girl running towards him. He smiled as she hugged him tightly.

"Hey, Jessie," he greeted.

"You came to visit!" She pulled back from him. "Did you bring anyone else with you?"

"Nah, just me. I wanted to talk to Andy about something anyway, but I wanted to see you first."

Jessie frowned. "Andy's pretty mad at you. I mean, every time I said something about you, he'd frown and stop talking to me." Her face brightened up. "Can I show you some of my pictures, Gibbs?"

"Yeah, sure. Go get 'em."

Jessie grinned and ran upstairs quickly, coming back to the waiting room in record time. "Here!" She handed the pictures to Gibbs. Gibbs smiled at her and took them, but before he could look at them someone caught his eye. He looked up.

"Andy?"

Andy looked over from where he was standing by he receptionist's desk. "Gibbs?" He smiled, although Gibbs could see right through it.

"Hey, Jessie, you made any new friends?" Gibbs asked the girl.

"Yeah!"

"Can you go play with them whilst I talk to Andy?"

Jessie nodded and ran off in the direction of the playroom, where she was sure her friends would be. Andy's false smile dropped as soon as she'd left.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded. Gibbs shrugged.

"I came to see you."

"I thought I said I never wanted to see you again."

Gibbs cringed on the inside. He still remembered that night. "Andy…"

"What?" Andy was glaring at Gibbs now.

Gibbs took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

Andy had to do a double take. "You're _what_?"

"I'm sorry."

"I thought it was a sign of weakness? You know, rule six?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Gibbs thought about it. "Did I ever tell you rule eighteen?"

Andy thought about it. "No, I don't think so. What is it?"

"It's better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission."

Andy smiled. "So you're seeking my forgiveness now?"

Gibbs smirked. "Yeah, I guess."

"Well, you've got it."

Gibbs chuckled. "You know rule six isn't the only rule I've broken."

"Really?"

"I think I broke rule ten."

"What's that?"

"Never get personally involved in a case."

Andy shook his head. "You didn't get personally involved, Gibbs. The woman stabbed an innocent civilian, so you shot her."

Gibbs nodded, although he still didn't feel absolutely certain. "How's your side?"

Andy lifted his shirt to reveal the bandage around his chest. "It's getting there." He lifted his trouser leg. "My cut's healing, and so is my ankle." He put down his trouser leg before pulling up his right sleeve to reveal his wrist wrapped in a bandage. "The doctors found that I'd only sprained it, but it still might take a while to heal…" Andy frowned and looked up at Gibbs. "Why do you care all of a sudden? I told you I hated you and you still came back." Then he smirked. "You miss me."

"The team misses you," Gibbs said.

"And so do you."

"I'm a part of the team, aren't I?"

"But I wanna hear ya say it, Gibbs. Go on: _I miss you_."

"Andy…"

"Say it Gibbs. Come on, just three words!"

Gibbs sighed. This boy could be unbearable. _Just like another 'boy' I know..._

"Are you gonna wimp out on me, Gibbs?"

"Fine, fine. I miss you. Happy?"

Andy smiled. "I miss you too, Gibbs." He rubbed his injured wrist. "Hey, you never told me what happened to the women that kidnapped us…"

"All three of them are dead: Petty Officers Kelly Hartson, Macy Harps and Janet Miller."

"Janet Miller?" Andy asked. "That's Alice's aunt. Who killed who?"

"You don't need to know that. They were holding weapons and refused to lower them. Petty Officers Harps and Hartson actually shot at us."

"What about Petty Officer Miller?"

Gibbs paused. "She stabbed you."

"Oh…" Andy bit his lip. He'd actually liked Alice's aunt. She didn't have to stab him, did she? Or maybe she did…?

Gibbs smiled at Andy's thoughtful face. He might as well do it now. "Uh, Andy?"

"Yeah?"

Gibbs rubbed the back of his neck. "What would you do if I adopted ya?"

* * *

><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	20. Chapter 19

**And here we are! That chapter before the last! The first part of the Epilogue!  
>Enjoy readers!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>1 Year later...<strong>

Gibbs sighed as he finished his paperwork. It had taken him quite a while, but he'd finally completed it. Now he was hungry…

"DiNozzo!"

Tony looked up from his desk. "Yeah, Boss?"

"Your turn to buy lunch?"

Tony was about to open his mouth when he noticed Ziva glare at him. "I guess so…"

Gibbs walked up to the desk and dropped some twenty dollar bills on it. "Buy it."

Tony smirked. "Why, you hungry?"

Gibbs glared at the Senior Field Agent.

"Of course you are." Tony got up and headed to the elevator. "Maybe I could get Grace from the Legal Department to do this…"

"Is Tony getting lunch?" Ziva asked. Gibbs nodded.

"I forgot to give him my order…" She got out her cell phone and started texting Tony.

"Oh great, so did I!" McGee started getting out his phone.

"He knows what to get," Gibbs sighed.

"How do you know?" Ziva asked.

Gibbs smirked and tapped his nose. "I'm getting coffee."

As soon as Gibbs left the bullpen, the elevator dinged and two pairs of footsteps headed towards the bullpen. Neither Ziva nor McGee looked up until a familiar voice greeted them.

"So busy that you can't even say hi, eh?"

They both looked up to see Andy standing with Alice, both of them smirking. McGee frowned.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked. "Aren't you meant to get back home?"

Andy shrugged. "It's boring there. I'll be there alone."

Alice held up some sheets of paper. "Andy says you're good with Math. I need help."

Ziva looked around. "Where's Jessie?"

"Gibbs is picking her up," Andy and Alice said simultaneously.

"Gibbs?" Ziva and McGee asked.

"Right here." Gibbs walked into the bullpen with Jessie hot on his heels, chattering away.

"Hey, Dad," Andy greeted. "Hey, Jess." He saw Gibbs smile at the name Andy had insisted on calling him ever since the adoption had been completed.

"_Is it over?" Andy asked as they walked out of the courts. Gibbs smiled._

"_Yeah, it's over Andy."_

"_Who won?" Jessie asked excitedly. Gibbs thought about how to reply._

"_Do you prefer to be called a Gibbs or do you want to keep your last name?"_

_Both Andy and Jessie's eyes widened in shock. "Really?" Gibbs nodded._

"_Daddy!" Jessie hugged Gibbs' leg. "Thank you thank you thank you!"_

_Andy hugged Gibbs for the first time since they met. "Thanks, Dad."_

"_You can still call me Gibbs, you know," Gibbs pointed out._

"_Yeah, but if I'm gonna be called Andrew James Gibbs, then I've got to call you Dad haven't I?"_

Andy still couldn't get that day out of his head. The dinner, the party… the kiss…

"Hi Gibbs. Hi Jessie," Alice greeted. Her voice broke Andy from his thoughts. Jessie just continued to talk.

"… and then Molly was all 'I don't want to play with you because you're different', and I was like 'Just because I have friends and you don't', and then she went off crying and she told a teacher and said I was bullying her and everyone said she was lying and then she got in so much trouble and… oh, hi Ziva! Hi McGee!" Jessie bounded up to Ziva's desk and moved to sit on her lap. Ziva picked up the young girl and placed her on her lap as Gibbs sat at his desk.

"How are you, Jessie?" Ziva asked.

"I'm cool. It's been ages since we last saw you. I mean, two weeks is a long time!"

"Not really," Andy muttered from the floor beside Tony's desk, where he was doing his Math homework with Alice.

"Yes it is! It's fourteen whole days!" Jessie pointed out.

"Fourteen days can be a long time, Andy," Alice said, smirking.

"You always have to take her side, don't you?" Andy asked.

"Hey, Boss, I got the lunch!" Tony called out as he walked into the bullpen with three boxes of pizza. He froze, and then smiled when he saw Andy, Alice and Jessie. "Hey guys!"

"Technically, Andy's the only guy out of the three of us," Alice pointed out.

"Smartass," Andy muttered.

"Dumbass," Alice teased.

"At least I can complete my Math homework," Andy pointed out.

"At least I can complete my Physics homework without help," Alice argued.

"At least I can –"

"Shut up!" Jessie cried. Alice and Andy stared at her in shock before carrying on with their homework. Tony sat behind his desk and watched as Andy and Alice completed their homework together. Well, Andy struggled writing with his left hand.

"So, what are you three doing here anyway?" he asked.

"We wanted to see you lot again," Andy answered. He cursed silently as he made a mistake. "Stupid left hand – won't write the answer I want to write."

Alice smirked and snatched his pencil off him. "I'll write it for you."

"No. You'll use that answer for you homework."

"I'm not in your Math class. I don't get the same homework."

"…Fine." Andy moved aside to let Alice write down his answer for him.

"How'd you sprain your wrist, anyway?" McGee asked.

"Football. You were there!" Andy exclaimed. Tony nodded.

"He scored that touchdown that you thought was really awesome."

"Actually, that was you, Tony," McGee said.

"No it wasn't. He was busy kissing Ziva," Abby explained as she skipped into the room. She grinned when she saw Jessie. "Jessie!"

Jessie smiled. "Hi Abby!" She jumped off Ziva's lap. "Let's go to Abby's lab!" She skipped over to Abby and grabbed her hand before dragging her over to the elevator. "Come on Ziva! Come on Alice!"

"Coming!" Alice ran over to where the two were whilst Ziva walked behind. As soon as the girls were gone, Tony decided to talk.

"So, how's school?" he asked Andy. Andy frowned as he looked up at Tony.

"Good…" he answered uncertainly.

"What are your grades like?"

"I'm getting straight Bs apart from in Math, Chemistry, PE and Woodwork where I'm getting As."

Tony smiled. "That's good. And what's your status?"

"My status?" Andy smirked. "Is that what you were getting at? You didn't do a very good job at trying to sneak it out of me."

McGee smirked. "You owe me twenty dollars, Tony."

Andy smirked. "Sucker." He sat up fully. "I'm still single anyway."

"Still single? And you're hanging out with _her_?"

"I don't date every chick I see, Tony," Andy teased. "I'm waiting for the right time." He got on with his homework again.

"Are you shy?" McGee asked. Andy blushed.

"No…"

"Oh my god – you're shy!" Tony exclaimed.

"So is McGee!" Andy protested.

"But at least I'm dating now," McGee pointed out. Andy sighed.

"Fine then. What's it gonna take to get you off my back?" Andy asked.

"Ask her out," Tony suggested. Andy glared at him as if to say '_are you serious?_'. Tony smirked.

"Yeah, I'm serious. Unless you're a chicken…"

Andy frowned. "I ain't chicken."

"Then ask her out."

"I… I… uh…"

Tony started making chicken noises.

"DiNozzo, we don't work in a damn farm, so quit it with the noises," Gibbs commanded. Tony continued to tease Andy. Andy clenched his fists in anger.

"Tony, stop it," McGee said. "You're getting him mad."

"No." Andy put up his hand to stop McGee from defending him. "I'll do it."

Tony smirked. "That's good, because the girls are coming up for lunch now."

"What?"

The elevator dinged and three different voices were heard as the people in it came out. Andy bit his lip and looked at Tony who was smirking.

"I hate you," he muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>Read on, peeps! It's not over yet!<strong>


	21. Chapter 20

**Here's the final chapter, guys! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Andy took a deep breath as he walked up to Alice's front porch. She lived in a large four bedroom house with her parents and three siblings – an older brother, and younger brother and his twin sister. From his last visit, he managed to remember that they had two bathrooms, a large kitchen-diner, an average sized living room and a study at the back.<p>

He reached the porch on unsteady legs. Was he really going to do this? He was about to turn to go back when he heard Tony's words again in his head.

_Unless you're a chicken…_

_You're a chicken…_

_Chicken…_

He turned back to the door. He was _not_ a chicken. He raised his fist and rang the doorbell. He wasn't going to bang on the door, no matter how much Tony would persuade him to.

After a few minutes, someone came to the door. It was a large man, or teenage boy, with dirty-blonde hair and brown eyes, and was only wearing joggers. Andy was sure he was about eighteen.

"Erm, why are you in joggers?" Andy asked.

"Why are you standing on the front porch?" the boy retorted. Andy rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Touché. Uh… is Alice there?" he asked.

"I dunno. Is she?"

"Brandon, are you scaring off boys again?" Alice called out from within the house. She came into view just down the corridor, and smiled when she saw Andy at the door. "Oh, hey Andy!"

"Hey, Al," Andy greeted. He felt Brandon's glare on him. "Uh, can you tell your brother to…?"

"Brandon, back off."

Brandon grumbled as he headed inside and upstairs to his room. Alice smiled sympathetically at Andy. He shuddered.

"He scares me," he commented.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Alice apologized. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to talk."

"We could have done it over the phone."

"It feels nicer talking to you this way."

Alice smiled hopefully. "Alright. What did you want to talk about?"

Andy looked into Alice's eyes nervously. "What are you doing for your English essay?" he asked.

Alice's smile dropped. "Oh. I'm not sure yet. It'll come to me on the day."

"Alright." He looked at his watch. "Well, I've gotta be going. See ya!" He turned to leave.

"Bye," Alice muttered. Andy stopped and turned back.

"Hey, do you wanna go out this weekend, or sometime this week?" he called out. Alice froze as she was about to close the door.

"What?"

"Do you wanna go out with me?"

"Like, as friends?"

"No, like a date." Andy looked hopefully at Alice. "I've been meaning to ask you…"

"Yes." Alice smiled at Andy. "Of course. I mean, I've kinda been waiting for you to ask."

Andy smiled. "Ok. So the cinema? This weekend?"

"Sure."

"Alright." Andy raised his hand as if to wave. "Bye."

"Bye." Alice closed the door. Andy pumped the air with his fist.

"Yes!" He reached into his pocket and dialed a number on speed dial. As soon as the person answered, he smirked. "I did it, and you owe me twenty dollars."

* * *

><p>Andy walked into his English class the following day with a nervous frown on his face. He'd spent the whole night thinking over what he could write, but nothing came into his mind. He was sure he would fail.<p>

As soon as he sat down at his desk, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He carefully pulled it out a realized he'd gotten a text. He smiled when he realized it was a _good luck_ text from Gibbs. When he looked back up, he noticed Alice staring at him. She had a confused look on her face.

'Gibbs,' he mouthed, and Alice nodded and smiled. Not long after, his English teacher came round with sheets of paper.

"You'd better not be flirting, Mr Parkson," he warned. The rest of the class sniggered.

"I'm not, Sir," Andy answered. The teacher placed five sheets of lined paper of Andy's desk before moving on to the next desk. Andy read the essay outline written on the blackboard.

_Your task is to write a fictional story of your choice. The story may be true or completely made up, but it must include at least three characters._

As he was thinking, his teacher reached the front of the classroom. He placed the remaining pieces of paper on his desk.

"Don't forget – if you need more pieces of paper put your hands up to ask. I will not be able to answer any other questions during the test." He looked up at the clock on the wall. "You may now start."

Andy stared down at the lined pieces of paper in front of him. He had an idea, but he couldn't decide on a title. He had so many ideas, but none of them seemed right. His mind drifted off to the text that he got from Gibbs… _that's it!_ Suddenly, he smiled. He had the perfect idea. He put the pen to paper and started writing.

* * *

><p>About an hour or so later, the test was finished. Andy put his pen down and smiled at the essay on the paper. Alice looked over his shoulder.<p>

"What'd you write?" she asked. Andy sneakily showed her the title of his work, and she smiled.

Along the top of the paper were three words:

_The Gibbs Project_


End file.
